Unearthly: Season 2
by Eira Lloyd
Summary: Sequel to "Unearthly: Season 1". When Dean and Lola come back from Hell, they find out everything has changed. Sam has gone off, hunting on his own, and Alex settled in San Francisco with Lucia. But their return changes things, more than they could ever imagine, and one discovery will impact their lives in such a way, they just know nothing will ever be the same again.
1. Lazarus Rising

**A/N: So, this story is set in Supernatural's season 4. In case you haven't read my "Unearthly: Season 1" story, I'd recommend to read it first. This is still set in 2013, as you'll find out later, and I'll still re-write the season premiers and finales (in this story, Lazarus Rising and Lucifer Rising respectively). Um, I don't know what else to say. Just... Well, I hope you enjoy this story!**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Supernatural, or season nine would've been different. Also, I wouldn't be posting my stories on FanFiction, now would I?**

Lazarus Rising.

**Lola.**

Hell. That's the word people use when describing the worst case in any situation. But no one really knows Hell. Is it dark? Is it red? Is there fire or ice? What is Hell? What does it look like? Does it even exist? Lola could've answered all of your questions, if the pain hadn't been so blinding.

Torture. Since she'd gone to Hell, they'd tortured her in any possible way. It felt like 40 years had passed since that night, when the hellhounds attacked. And it hadn't stopped. Not until two minutes ago. The person, Alistair's new assistant, was about to torture her. She closed her eyes, hoping he wouldn't. Hoping he'd ask for someone to replace him, at least. Instead, she saw him sharpen the knife. She took a deep breath, but it was hard, breathing in Hell. It was suffocating, all the time. Lola tried once again, but instead of calming her, she started breathing heavily, panicking.

"No," she managed to say. "Please, don't do it," she pleaded. The person just stared at her, then smiled, wickedly. Lola felt tears coming to her eyes. She never would've cried. Not if she were alive. But the pain she'd been through in there had affected her so much, crying was something she did every single day. Torture in Hell hurt way more than torture in Earth, when you were alive, which wasn't comforting at all. "Please," she asked one more time. "Please, I'm beggin' you." Tears rolled down her face, but the self-hatred she felt wasn't as strong as it had once been. The person taped her mouth, so she wouldn't speak, and approached her with the now sharpened knife in his hand, ready to torture her. Lola drew in a breath and closed her eyes.

Silence. There was only silence. She was afraid to open her eyes. Maybe it was Alistair's assistant, trying a new form of torture. Thinking you were saved, then, when you opened your eyes, you realized he was right in front of you, ready to torture you. But she couldn't feel the duct tape over her mouth anymore. She tried to breathe normally, but it was just as suffocating as Hell. She was right. She was probably still in Hell. Maybe he'd taken the duct tape off her mouth to hear her scream. She shuddered at the thought, and realized she wasn't tied up anymore.

Finally, she couldn't bear it. She opened her eyes, and just saw darkness. She started to breathe faster and faster. She was panicking, again. "Calm down, Lola," she whispered to herself. "Calm the fuck down."

She took a deep breath. Then another, and another. And finally, she was breathing normally, though it was still suffocating. She looked in her pockets for something that would light the place up. She wasn't tied up anymore. She found a lighter in her pocket, and lit it up. When she realized she wasn't in Hell anymore, she smiled.

She took another deep breathe and her smile disappeared when she realized she was in a box. A wooden one, at that. Maybe it was a tomb. It sure looked like it. But that would mean she was alive. 40 years had passed since she'd gone to Hell. What if Alex wasn't alive anymore? What would she do? Was Dean even here? Lola doubted it.

She decided to do something she'd done only once before in her life — and she pushed the memory away because of how disgusting that whole day had been — she decided to crawl up until she got to the surface, like in every zombie movie, when the protagonist resurrects. Lola snorted, because in those movies, they always got it wrong. They got everything wrong in every movie, whenever it had to do with the supernatural, they always managed to fuck up. It wasn't even that hard, for fuck's sake!

She took another deep breath, before holding it and kicking the upside part of the box. She put her hands in front of her face as pieces of dirt fell onto it, and did her best to find a space where she could breathe. She thrust her arms forward, and started to dig out. She wanted to reach the surface; she _needed_ to reach the surface.

She held her breath, but she also needed to breathe. When she did that, she looked down, not to get dirt on her face. She did her best not to breathe too much, and just did it when she felt she was about to faint. It was just once, though, and then, her hands didn't feel any more dirt. She smiled involuntarily, and she thrusted her body forward, and as soon as she got her head out of the dirt, the sunlight hit her face, and she exhaled. The first thing she did was to take long, deep breaths, breathe "pure" air. Then she blinked a few times, to get adjusted to the brightness, and looked around. Another grave had been dug up right besides hers. She supposed it was Dean's. That meant Dean was still here. She looked around, and found, behind her, the man himself. She wasn't afraid anymore. When he offered her his hand, she took it, and he helped her get on her feet.

She tried to shake the dirt off her shirt and her jeans. Then looked at Dean, who was coincidentally looking at somewhere else.

She opened her mouth and tried to speak, but no sound would come out of it. She realized she was too thirsty to do that. She closed her mouth and shook Dean's arm a little, enough to catch his attention. Then she made a sign with her hand, telling him to follow her. He nodded, still avoiding to look at her in the eyes. Lola rolled her eyes, annoyed, but walked away from where they'd dug up the graves. She stopped, though. Around their tombs, there was a perfect circle of dead trees, laying on the ground, as if some lightning had made them fall or something. They were in the center of the trees, and Lola shuddered. It was creepy.

* * *

**Dean.**

Dean didn't know why Lola was acting as if nothing had happened. The guilt crushed him, and he felt like he was going to fall down and pass out any minute. Of course, that could've been the hunger and the thirst, but Dean, for some strange reason, was sure it was because of his guilt. He avoided Lola's eyes, always looking somewhere else. He just couldn't handle looking at her in the eyes after what had happened.

They walked until they found a road. Fortunately, it was empty, and they walked down on it, until the found an empty gas store. They exchanged a look — for one second, then Dean looked away — and knew what they had to do.

They searched the store, but there was no one there. The first thing they did was to go after the water, and drank two bottles each. Then they grabbed another two for each of them.

"Not bad," Lola said. She could finally speak. Dean, like her, hadn't been able to speak when he'd dug out of his grave.

"Yeah," Dean said, looking at his left. He found a stash of newspapers. "You think these are today's newspapers?" He asked her.

"Probably. What's the date?"

"Uh…" Dean picked one up. "It says here September 18, 2013."

"What?" Lola asked, with a tone of disbelief. "Let me see." She took the paper off his hands, and stared at the date at the top of the page. "It—it can't be. We spent 40 years down there. Not 4 months."

"I don't know." Dean shrugged. "Maybe time passes different down there. Or maybe we're still in Hell," he added, but he doubted it. If they were still in Hell, he wouldn't feel such guilt.

Lola clearly saw it in his face. "You don't seem very convinced. Let's get ourselves cleaned up, get foor and drinks, then we'll call Sam and Alex, see if they can pick us up."

"Yeah, good idea." He nodded, then they separated. Dean went to put the four water bottles on a bag, and then grabbed some food and put them on another bag as Lola entered the restroom and got herself cleaned up. When she got out, she had her left sleeve pulled up, and in her arm, near her shoulder, there was a mark of a hand, as if someone had put their hand on her and her skin'd had an allergic reaction.

"Dean," she said. "This is not normal, is it?" She wondered out loud. "I didn't have this when we—when we died." Dean noticed she didn't say "when we went to Hell", and he was grateful for that.

He frowned, then lifted his right sleeve. In the same spot where Lola's mark was, Dean had one too. "Maybe who got us out decided to brand us, as if saying 'Hey, look, I rescued them from Hell! I did it! They're mine, leave them alone!'" Dean proposed.

"You're saying a psychopath that acts like a 7-years-old brought us back to life?" Lola stared at him as if he were crazy, which he probably was. "Right." She rolled her eyes.

"Well, I don't see you proposing anything. At least I'm saying something."

"Do me a favor." Lola rolled her eyes again. "If you don't have something intelligent to say, don't say anything. You're not even funny."

"What?" Dean frowned. "Of course I'm funny. You're just jealous."

"Oh really?" Lola raised her eyebrow. "I think _you_ are jealous."

"I'm not jealous. I'm adorable." Dean smiled at her, an adorable smile.

"Oh, go get yourself cleaned up, idjit." Lola smiled a little.

"Yes, ma'am." He nodded, as if he were a good puppy dog, and walked into the restroom, not without hearing Lola chuckle at his antics. As soon as the restroom's door closed behind him, the smile dropped, and he stared sadly at the floor. Then he sighed, and proceeded to get himself cleaned up.

* * *

When he got out of the restroom, Lola held up money. "Look what I found."

"Isn't this robbery?" Dean smirked.

"Nope. We're just taking food and money from a store without giving anything in return," Lola answered. Dean stared at her.

"That's what robbery means."

Lola turned at him and faked surprise. "You don't say! I was being sarcastic, dumbass!"

That's when the TV turned on, but there was only static. Dean and Lola exchanged a look, and Lola turned it off. Then a radio at Lola's right side turned on, and there was only static, too. The TV turned on again, and Dean and Lola exchanged another look. _Salt_, their looks said.

They both ran and grabbed cartons of salt, then started spreading it on the doors and windowsills. But they heard this high-pitched tone, and Dean winced, and covered his left ear with his free hand, while he kept pouring salt over the windowsill, and then switched to another. Then the windows started to break.

Dean couldn't see what was happening to Lola. He tried to keep pouring salt, but the noise was too deafening and he soon dropped the salt and brought his right hand to his right ear, and closed his eyes. Even with that, he still could hear the noise, and it still was deafening. The windows shattered, and Dean launched himself away from them, and hoped Lola had done the same thing. He landed on the floor as bits of glass flew over him. Dean did his best to cover his head and chest, but he couldn't see much, since he'd closed his eyes because of the pain, and he couldn't hear anything either, except for that high-pitched tone.

Suddenly, it all stopped. He slowly got back to his feet and looked around. The store was a mess. Glass was everywhere. Stuff had fallen to the floor, and Dean didn't really feel like cleaning it all up. He looked everywhere, looking for Lola, and he found her, standing up, near the doors. "You okay?" He asked, concerned. She nodded.

"What the hell was that?" She asked.

"I don't know," Dean admitted.

"Well, then grab the bags and let's get the hell out of here!" Lola pointed at the bags that were on the counter, right behind Dean. He grabbed them, and they walked out. Lola walked over to a pay-phone, and dialled a number. "Dammit, Alex," she cursed. "Answer your stupid phone." She dialled again. And again. She didn't try a fourth time, though. "Want to try calling your brother?" She didn't wait for an answer. Instead, she gave him the phone, and took the bags from him.

Dean dialled Sam's number. It went straight to voicemail. He tried Sam's other number, and it also went to voicemail. He tried Sam's other _other_ number, but he didn't pick up either. He sighed, and shook his head.

"Who do we call now?" Lola asked.

"Uh, Bobby?" Dean suggested, and before Lola could answer, he dialled Bobby's number.

Bobby, unlike Sam and Alex, picked up the phone almost immediately. "Yeah?"

"Bobby?" Dean asked, just to be sure.

"Yeah?"

"It's me."

"Who's 'me'?" Bobby asked.

"Dean." Bobby hung up. Dean sighed, and dialled the number again.

"Who is this?" Dean could hear Bobby's angry voice at the other end of the line.

"Bobby, listen to me—" Bobby cut him off.

"This ain't funny. Call again, I'll kill ya." Bobby hung up the phone, and Dean did too.

"Well," he turned to Lola, "this could've gone better."

But Lola wasn't paying attention to him, she was looking at something behind Dean. He frowned, and was about to ask her what was so important when Lola said, "I know how to get out of here." She pointed at something behind him, and Dean turned around. It was a white, beat-up car. They looked at each other, then walked toward it, and Dean hot-wired the car. Maybe they were in South Dakota. If Dean could find the highway, he could get to Sioux Falls, Bobby's home town, which was near Bobby's house, and they could pay him a visit. He could tell them where Sam and Alex were. If they were still alive.

* * *

**Lola.**

Lola was glad Dean was still talking to her, even though he still didn't dare look at her in the eyes for more than a couple of seconds. It annoyed her, but there was nothing she could do about it. And besides, it wasn't even her biggest problem. Her sister might not be alive, even though, if the paper was from today, exactly four months had passed since the night they'd died. Lola took a deep breath, and looked out the window. The radio sucked, and she was bored. She wanted to do like BBC's Sherlock: shoot something, just because she had nothing else to do. So, that's what a high-functioning sociopath would do, so what?

She pushed those thoughts away. She was starting an argument with herself, and she really didn't want to do that. Instead, she just focused on the landscape, trying to clear her mind.

Instead, when she tried to keep her mind blank, flashbacks of Hell passed through her mind, and she re-lived those moments. They were so real, she was lost. She could feel every cut, every burn, every scar that was starting to form, every scar that was being reopened, and she screamed. Screamed at the top of her lungs…

"Lola?" Dean's voice brought her out of the trance. "Lola?" Lola thought she saw from the corner of her eye how he risked a glance at her, then looked back at the road. "Lola?!" He asked once more. "Are you all right?"

Lola shook her head once, as if it could shove away all her memories of Hell. "Yeah," she said, sarcasm was barely noticeable. "Peachy."

"It's about _it_, isn't it?" Dean wouldn't mention Hell. Lola decided she wouldn't either. She wasn't sure if she was ready to say that word out loud. Too many memories that wouldn't go away.

"Nah, it's about unicorns. You know they can stab people with their heads?" She said sarcastically, though that last part was true, unicorns _could _stab people with their heads.

Dean chuckled. "Let me guess, that's the reason why you want to be a unicorn."

Lola feigned surprised. "Whoa, Dean, you're smarter than you look!"

"Oh, shut up," he told her, and they both chuckled. It helped Lola get rid of the sensation of being in Hell again, just for a while.

* * *

When they arrived at Bobby's house, Dean stayed in the car a few minutes, as if he were afraid to see Bobby again, at least that's what Lola suspected. He should've been excited, though. He would see one of the people he cared about most again. That should've been enough motivation to be out of the car in a matter of seconds and at the front door, having already knocked, and waiting for Bobby to open the door. But instead he stared at the door, as if lost in memories.

"Dean?" She asked. Dean didn't respond. "Dean?" She asked again, louder this time. "Dean?!" She shook his arm, a little violently, and he jumped a little. "You all right?"

"Yeah. Peachy," he quoted her. "Let's go." He opened the door and got out of the car. Lola imitated him. They walked up to the door and Dean knocked. After a couple of minutes, Bobby opened the door.

"Surprise," Dean said. Lola smiled innocently and shrugged, as if saying "yeah, we're back".

"I—I don't—" Bobby stammered. Lola knew he wondered how they'd been brought back to life.

"Yeah, we don't either," she said. Before she could say anything else, Bobby slashed at them with a silver knife. Lola stepped back, and Dean also managed to dodge the knife.

"Jesus Christ," Lola swore. "Someone's grumpy," she muttered under her breath.

Instead, Dean held up his arms, in surrender. "Bobby! It's me!" He insisted.

"Yeah, my ass!" Bobby answered.

Bobby slashed at them again, and Lola dodged the slash. Dean grabbed Bobby's wrist, stopping him from trying to kill them, at least for a moment. Bobby punched him, and Lola decided to come between the two of them and shoved Bobby away. Dean and Lola entered Bobby's house, and Bobby, with the knife still in his hand, threw himself at Dean, trying to kill him. Lola pushed a chair between the two of them, and Bobby lost his balance. He managed to grip the chair, preventing his fall, but the knife fell to the floor, at Dean's feet. Dean took it, and said, "I'm not a shapeshifter, or a revenant."

"Yeah, neither am I," Lola said, because she noticed Dean was forgetting about her.

"Oh, really?" Bobby asked, sarcastically. "I can see it now, I'm such an idiot. After all you never really died and we didn't bury you!" He ended his sentence, shouting.

Lola rolled her eyes. "Give me the knife," she told Dean, and without waiting for his answer, she snatched the knife out of his hands. "You want proof?" She asked Bobby, while she rolled up her sleeve, and then used the knife to cut herself on the forearm. It wasn't a very deep cut, but it triggered a few memories from Hell. She suppressed the thought, and managed not to lose control. "See?" She held up her arm. "Not burning. Barely hurt," she shrugged, and gave Dean the knife.

Dean rolled up his sleeve too, and cut himself, also on the forearm.

Lola saw how Bobby's expression changed. Then he threw holy water at them, taking them by surprise. Dean spit out the water that had entered his mouth while Lola blinked the water out of her eyes.

"The hell?" She protested.

"Bobby, we're not demons!" Dean told him.

Bobby just shrugged innocently. "Can't be too careful."

Lola had to admit he had a point. She nodded. "Better safe than sorry." Bobby looked at Dean, as if saying "even she agrees with me", and Dean sighed.

"Damn glad to see you two. How'd you bust out?" Bobby asked them.

Dean and Lola exchanged looks. "No idea," they both answered.

"What about Sam?" Dean asked, at the same time Lola said, "Where's Alex?"

"Sam's been around, you know. Hunting. Said he'd stop by, later. If you want to see him, you can wait here." He turned to Lola. "I don't know anything about your sister, sorry."

"She—she's not dead… right?" Lola asked. She saw from the corner of her eye, Dean giving her a sympathetic look.

Bobby shrugged. "As far as I know she's still alive." Lola sighed, relieved.

"So, we wait for Sam to get here and then we ask him about your sister," Dean said. "I'm sure he knows where she is."

"Yeah. Sure." Lola nodded. Then she turned to Bobby. "Do you have food? I'm starving."

* * *

**Sam.**

Sam walked out of the Impala, making sure Ruby wasn't around — he hadn't introduced her to Bobby yet — locked the car, and walked toward the door.

He'd been on a case in Sioux Falls, and remembered Bobby was near and then decided, "why not?". He hadn't seen Bobby in a while.

He looked back, once more, before knocking, and the door opened almost immediately. Sam was expecting Bobby to open the door. He certainly wasn't expecting someone looking exactly like his brother to open it.

"Oh." He stopped, as if he'd been expecting someone else. He had money in his hands. He stared at Sam, and pointed his finger at him. "You're not the pizza man."

Sam didn't say anything. He waited too seconds, and then his shock passed. He grabbed his gun, which was the only weapon he kept close to him, just in case, and pointed at him. "Dean" held up his arms in surrender.

"Whoa, take it easy, man," he said, making a few steps backwards. Sam didn't say anything, but glared at him with pure hatred. "Dean" knocked the gun away from Sam's hands and pushed it as far away as he could.

"Glad we could sort this out." "Dean" smiled, both his smile and his words full of sarcasm.

Sam was about to say something when Bobby and Lola appeared.

"Oh, come on!" Lola protested. "Is it really that hard to believe that we're back?" She glared at Sam.

Sam's eyes flickered from her to Dean, from Dean to her, and then back to Dean again. Just when it seemed he was about to relax, he punched Dean in the jaw, and Dean fell back.

"Hey, hey." Bobby put himself between them, before Sam could punch Dean again. "It's them, Sam." Bobby told him. "Did all the tests, it's really them."

Only then, Sam let the idea settle in. His brother was here. He was alive. Lola too.

"So, how did you do it?" Dean asked him. Sam frowned.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, being completely honest.

"Come on, Sam, I know you're the one who bust us out of Hell." Dean stared at him, his look and tone both saying 'I thought better of you'.

"I—I didn't," Sam insisted. "I—I tried everything, okay? Tried to make a deal with a demon, but they wouldn't do it. Hell, I even tried opening the gates of Hell. But there was nothing I could do."

"So you didn't bring us back?" Lola asked.

"No!" Sam exclaimed. "Hell, I wish I had. I really do. But it wasn't me."

Dean stayed quiet for a while, and Sam wished he would just say something. He hated the look his brother had. Sam knew it very well. It was his I-don't-trust-you-but-something-tells-me-you're-not-lying-so-let's-say-I-believe-you look. Sam tried to calm himself before he could say anything else.

"All right," Dean finally said. "Then who did it?"

Sam shrugged. _How am I supposed to know?_

"Sam," Lola said, "do you know where my sister is?"

Sam stared at Lola. Alex. Right. He frowned in confusion, then he remembered. "Right. She changed her number," Sam informed her. "She's in San Francisco."

Lola's eyes widened. "She's hunting _alone?_"

"What? No. No, she—she's not hunting." They were all silent. Sam took a deep breath. "We can go now, if you want. Takes about a day and four hours to get there."

"Not if I drive," Dean said.

* * *

**Lucia.**

Lucia woke up at 6 am, as usual.

She did the same thing she did everyday. She changed into a sitting position as soon as she turned off the alarm clock, and made her morning prayer. Then, she stood up, and immediately went into the bathroom. She was half asleep, though. Automatically, she locked the door behind her, and let the water flow. She yawned, putting a hand over her mouth, and looked absentmindedly at the water, waiting for it to get hotter.

When she finally got inside, the warm water woke her up completely, and she sighed. Another day had passed.

She got out of the shower, and put a towel around her body, and walked out of the bathroom and back into her room. She picked some jeans and a white, simple shirt, and got dressed. She put on her boots, and then walked back into the bathroom, and used the hairdryer to dry her hair.

After that, she walked back into her room, and picked up a necklace, the one that was lying on her nightstand. It was a heart-shaped medallion. Inside, there was a picture of James. She still wasn't completely over it, but each morning she looked at it, thinking about removing the picture, and sometimes she even opened it up, ready to remove it, but in the end she just put it back down. This time, though, she removed the picture. She didn't throw it away, though. Lucia put the necklace on, and left the picture on her nightstand, hidden under the book she was currently reading — _Psycho,_ by Robert Bloch — and sighed, as she walked out of the room and into the corridor.

The door of Alex's room was still closed, and Lucia hesitated. Should she wake her up? It was 6:30, almost 7. Surely Alex wouldn't want to miss her classes. In the end, she walked toward the kitchen and started making breakfast.

She was frying pancakes when Alex walked in, fully dressed, and left her messenger bag on the couch. "Hey," Alex said.

"Hi," Lucia greeted, as Alex prepared coffee. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah," Alex said. "I guess you could say that." Lucia knew that wasn't true, but she didn't say anything. Alex had dark circles under her eyes, meaning she'd either stayed up until late at night, or she'd woken up much earlier than she'd thought. "Here," she said, holding out a mug, filled with coffee. "Thought you might need it."

Lucia smiled. "Thanks." She put the pancakes on a plate, and put it on the table. The plates were already on the table, and Alex didn't wait. She put a couple of pancakes on her plate, and started eating. Lucia poured herself some orange juice, and then poured another glass of Alex.

"Thanks," Alex said when Lucia gave her one of the glasses.

They ate their breakfast in silence. "So, what are you going to do, today?" Lucia asked as she put the dirty dishes on the sink. "Are you going out?"

Alex snorted. "You kidding? I'm going to do what I always do after class. Come home, read a book, maybe even watch a movie…" She rolled her eyes innocently.

Lucia chuckled. "You mean you'll watch Les Misérables, _again._" She emphasized the word "again", and shook her head. "You're hopeless."

"Hey, it's your fault! You're the one who showed me the movie! But yeah, I'm hopeless." Alex smiled. She took another gulp of her coffee and her eyes widened. "Shit!" She put the mug down and ran toward her room.

"What did you forget this time?" Lucia yelled.

"I didn't print the homework," Alex yelled back.

Lucia chuckled. "I have to go now," she said. "See you later."

She barely heard her sister responding "See ya" and turned around. She grabbed her purse, and put her jacket on. She opened the door, and saw three people she didn't expect to see.

Sam smiled awkwardly and said, "Hi, uh, I was just about to—" Lucia held her hand up, and Sam stopped talking. Lucia took a few steps back, then called out, "Alex! You've got visitors!"

* * *

**Alexandra.**

Alex didn't expect any visitors. The only visitor she'd ever had was Sam, and when he came, he either came alone, or with his girlfriend Ruby. Sam had never told her he and Ruby were actually dating, but to Alex, it was obvious. Or they were friends with benefits, but to Alex, it didn't matter. The pain was still the same.

When Lucia told her she had visitors, she'd been confused, and had picked up the recently printed pages of homework, and grabbed her messenger back, about to tell the visitors she had to go and couldn't see them right then. She'd even started her sentence but had stopped right in her tracks when she'd seen who was at the door, too stunned to do anything else other than stare. Then she'd put her stuff down, and made a few cautious steps toward them. Sam had started to explain, but Alex couldn't hear him. She'd known it since yesterday. She'd felt something weird, something telling her her sister was alive. She'd ignored it, of course. It wasn't worth getting her hopes up, just for them to be crushed, but of course, she'd hoped her sister would be alive anyway. And here she was.

Alex ran up to her and hugged her tight. Lucky for her, she didn't start crying. Alex was pretty sure she'd cried enough for a lifetime. But tears of joy did fill her eyes, and when they went all blurry, she closed them, and blinked them back.

"I knew it," she mumbled. "I knew it."

Then, when they'd separated, she invited them in.

"You can go," she told Lucia. "I mean, you can stay if you want," she quickly added, noticing how bad it sounded, "but your job—"

"Uh, it's all right," Lucia said. "I'd like to stay, if you don't mind."

Alex, of course, let her stay. They'd grown closer these past few months, she couldn't just push her away. Alex wasn't like that. She never had been, and never would be.

They all sat down, and Alex offered them something to drink. She ended up bringing three beers for the visitors, while Lucia and her refused to take anything. They'd just had breakfast after all.

"So, go on," Alex urged them. Then they noticed how they kept glancing at Lucia. Well, Sam wasn't. But he was the only one. "She knows," Alex told them. "Lucia and I have been hunting together these past few months. Anything you can say to me, you can say it in front of her." She didn't need to sneak a glance at Lucia to notice she was silently thanking her for that. Alex had her powers, after all. She still could read other people's mind, and talk to them. And she'd developed a new ability over the months.

After a moment of silence, Lola spoke. "So, we're back from Hell," she said, and then stayed quiet again.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Oh really? I had no idea! I thought you two were shifters, that's why I let you in." She paused, then added, "Idjits." They stayed silent. "So?" She asked Dean and Lola. "How d'you get out?"

They both groaned. "Why does everyone keep asking us that?" Lola wondered out loud.

"As if we knew." Dean scoffed.

"More important, what have _you_ been doing while we were gone?" Lola asked her sister.

"Like I said, Lucia and I have been hunting. Also I kinda go to college now," she added before she lost her courage. She didn't know how her sister was going to react.

"What?" Lola was visibly stunned. "But—how—I mean, if you're hunting, how come you also go to college?"

"We don't go around driving, we just stay in California, in San Fran's area," Alex informed her sister.

"Okay." Her sister nodded. Was it Alex's idea or was she paler than before? "I was going to ask you for help but since you're, well, going to college and all—"

"Don't be stupid," Alex cut her off. "I'll help you. What do you need?"

* * *

Seeing as the visitors were hungry, they moved form the living room to the kitchen — which was only a few steps, since the only thing separating the kitchen and the living room were some counters, over which Lucia and Alex usually ate — and Lucia and Alex prepared some burgers for the guys, and a normal meal for Sam.

"We need to find who got us out. We think it might be a demon," Dean informed the girls.

"Okay. Any idea why they would free you?" Alex asked. Lucia was quiet, Alex noticed. She didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad one. "Let me guess," she said before any of them could reply. "You have no clue. You can save your sarcastic answers."

"Well, aren't you a smart one," Dean commented, and Alex glared at him, half-joking.

"Anything else you can tell me? I mean, your summary consisted of one sentence, which wasn't helpful at all, so, any details?"

"Well…" Lola said. She and Dean exchanged glances, and they both rolled up their sleeves until they left their arms discovered; Dean's right arm and Lola's left one. In both of them, right under the shoulder, there was a mark of a hand.

"Whoa, okay," Alex said, right after looking. "So, we'll check it out after we eat. There's a library just around the corner. So, here. Hurry," she put the first burger in front of her sister, then she grabbed another plate and put Sam's meal on it, and put it in front of him.

"Thanks." Sam smiled at her.

"You're welcome." Alex returned the smile, but she felt a sudden pain in her chest, and she turned around before Sam could see her smile dropping. Almost without meaning to, she glanced at Lucia, who was giving her a sympathetic look. She suppressed a sigh, and started washing the dishes, while Lucia gave Dean his burger. She decided not to speak too much, let them get to know Lucia better, like she did. Well, maybe not like she did, more like Sam. They were friends. Lucia and her were more like sisters.

Alex could hear the hunters and Lucia talking, but she didn't listen to the conversation. Instead, she focused on washing the dishes and nothing else. Then, she turned around, and found out, Dean and Lola were already done with their food. Sam was only half way through his meal. Alex picked up the two plates, and washed them, and sat down with the rest of them, but she was still zoning out. When Sam finished eating, she just put the plate on the sink, then she turned to the hunters. "Let's go to the library."

* * *

**Lucia.**

"You know," Dean said, "Bobby told we could call Pamela. She could help."

"I'd rather not," Lola said. "She's too far away to help us, and we have to figure this out right now."

Lucia focused back on the book she was reading, but her eyes started swimming, and she couldn't focus. The book wasn't helping at all. She sighed, and closed the book. No one even looked at her, and she looked down, grabbed the book, and put it back in its shelf. Then she walked toward the computer section, where Sam and Alex were. They were the ones who were usually on the computer—well, Lola was too, at least that's what Alex had said, but they needed people to read the books, and it was easier to look something up on the computer than reading an entire book full of what others might call "satanist crap".

Lucia didn't know why, but something didn't make sense. Why would demons get them out, if they wanted them — well, technically Dean — in in the first place? Sam had told them how no demon would deal with him, no demon wanted them to get out. Why was that?

She shook her head slightly. Then it occured to her. Maybe it wasn't a demon. _But what else could it be? _she thought to herself. _What about… the opposite of a demon?_ She wasn't sure from where these thoughts came from, but the voice inside her mind was hers. _An angel._

She knew no one would believe her, but she'd give it a try. After all, even if no one else did, Lucia _did_ believe in angels. She looked them up on Google. She looked on different sites, and many of them said one of the powers angels possessed was bringing people back from the dead.

Lucia suppressed a smile, and this time, looked up angel names on Google. She clicked on the first page, and read them all, but it seemed like she wasn't looking for any of those. She kept looking, though. She knew it didn't make sense. How could she know which angel had been the one who'd brought Dean and Lola back? Still, she didn't give up. The second page she checked wasn't helping either, but the third one did. She was scrolling down, when she suddenly stopped. There it was.

The name that had caught her attention was simple. It had 7 letters. Lucia smiled, a small smile. _Castiel_, she thought.

She felt different. She couldn't really explain it. She just knew that was it. She knew Castiel was the one. She looked him up.

Castiel is an Angel of Thursday and will help anyone born on this day or anyone who asks for help on this day. The Angel can help us if there are changes in our life which may involve a lot of travelling or moving to a new country and we need guidance.

She changed the page.

Castiel, an angel associated with Jupiter and Thursday. He is said to be invoked by those who practice divinatory arts.

Then another page.

Castiel: Hebrew theophory (i.e. the practice of embedding the name of a god or a deity in a name) meaning "my cover is God." According to the book "A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels" by Gustav Davidson, Castiel was the angel of the weekday Thursday.

"My cover is God…" she mumbled. "Angel of Thursday…" She paused, thinking. Then her eyes widened, and she almost fell off her chair. "Oh my God!" She whispered. "Today is Thursday."

* * *

"Alex, can I talk to you for a sec?" Lucia asked.

"Uh, sure." Both girls walked behind some bookshelves. Lucia knew Alex could tell this was a private conversation. Lucia hoped she couldn't tell that Lucia was pulling her apart because she didn't want anyone to dismiss her without hearing her out and considering the possibility. "What is it?"

"I think I know what pulled them out." Alex's look urged her to continue. "I—I think it was an angel."

"A—an angel?" Alex repeated. "Are you sure?"

"Ye—yeah. I mean, I don't know. I just—I can feel it." Lucia waited for her to laugh, but she didn't.

"Oh-kay… Do you know who it was?" Alex questioned her.

"Wait—so you believe me?" Lucia was surprised.

"Well, demons _do_ exist, so why wouldn't angels be real?" She reasoned. "Anyway, just answer my question."

"Right," Lucia said. "Well, yeah, I think so." Alex raised an eyebrow. "Castiel."

"Okay, then. Now we just have to find out how to summon an angel," Alex said. "That's not going to be easy."

"I'm not sure. I mean, I looked it up, there are many ways to summon angels but I'm not sure they'll work. So, I was thinking, what if we mix them up? I mean, one said you needed the Angel's sigil, and I found two. We can draw those two and then say a prayer. I read Castiel is the angel of Thursday, and he helps anyone who was born on this day or anyone who asks help on this day. Today's Thursday," Lucia explained.

Alex stayed quiet for a moment. "Sounds good to me," she finally said. "But I don't think Dean and Lola will believe you," she added, as an afterthought.

"I thought about that. You know, maybe, besides the Angel's sigils, we could put up candles." Lucia went back to the summoning conversation.

"Good idea. Look, the thing is, it's going to be dark soon. If we're going to summon Castiel, we need to do it now."

* * *

**Lola.**

Lola closed the book and sighed. She'd been going through those library books for a while now, and it was exhausting. Bobby had told them he'd do some research, trying to figure out who had brought them back, but they hadn't heard from him since yesterday.

Lola looked up at the computer section, just to find Alex and Lucia talking silently to Sam. She wished she could hear what they were saying, but she couldn't. Instead, she sighed, and grabbed another book.

Lola had to admit she was jealous of Lucia. She'd realized Alex and Lucia had formed a bond that was as strong as Alex and hers used to be. She shook her head, she couldn't be thinking about that right now. They had other things to do.

"Hey, you okay?" Dean asked her. She looked up from the book she was trying to read, thankful for some distraction, but at the same time she didn't want to show any weakness.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She decided to answer Dean's question with a question.

"Well—" Dean started but cut himself off. Lola wondered why, but was soon answered when Sam, Alex and Lucia appeared in front of them.

"We know who did it," Sam said. "Come on."

* * *

They were in an abandoned warehouse, which was outside one of the small towns near San Francisco. Lola wasn't too happy, because she didn't know what was going on. Sam had called Bobby and told him not to look for info anymore, but they wouldn't tell him what it was. They wouldn't tell Dean either because, this being an actual quote, "They wouldn't believe it".

Lola was pissed, but at least she got to drive the car. Alex was in the passenger seat, and Lucia was in the back seat.

She stopped the car, and they all got out. Sam told Dean and Lola to stay behind while he and Alex carried all the stuff that was necessary for the summoning. Even though the summoning was Dean's idea — proposed it when they were at the girls' apartment, a few hours earlier — they couldn't do anything but stand back and watch how they did it all, and it annoyed Lola, and she knew it annoyed Dean too.

She saw how Lucia drew two sigils with a graffiti spray. The girl put a candle between the two of them, then put others around them, and then she lit them up.

Sam and Alex backed down, and Lucia kneeled down in front of what she'd done and looked at the ground.

"What's going on?" Lola asked, but Alex telepathically told her to shut up. She didn't want to, but in the end, she stayed silent, trying to listen to what Lucia was muttering.

* * *

**Lucia.**

She put her head down, and took a deep breath. _You can do it_, she told herself.

"Castiel,

Angel of Thursday,

I call on you to be with us now,

Please come down and show yourself,

Light and guard us,

Rule and guide us," she whispered the prayer, and closed her eyes.

Suddenly, they heard a loud rattle shaking the roof. Lucia wanted to stand up an run away, but she stayed still, her head down. The door opened, and Lucia sneaked a glance at it. A man with black hair and extremely blue eyes walked in, Lucia immediately knew he was the angel. She looked at him with awe. Finally, she knew she'd been right all along. Angels did exist. As Castiel passed, the light bulbs above his head shattered in a shower of sparks. He stopped right in front of where Lucia was kneeling, and he stared at her. Lucia heard his voice — or what she thought was his voice — in her head. _Thank you for calling me_. _You can stand up now._

And she did, because you just don't say no to an angel. She stood up, and she realized she was the same size as Castiel. Castiel was wearing a business suit and a beige trench-coat. He looked more like a tax accountant than an angel, but Lucia didn't say anything. _Castiel,_ she thought. Castiel nodded at her once, very formal, and Lucia didn't know if he'd heard what she was thinking, or if it was some kind of greeting. She did the same.

Then, Castiel walked around her and toward the guys in the back. Lucia turned around.

Dean and Lola were holding guns, and shooting at him. Alex was trying to get her sister to stop shooting, but she couldn't get her eyes off the angel. It _was_ an angel after all. Sam was looking at him exactly the way Lucia had looked at him before. With amazement.

Seeing as the bullets weren't hurting him, they let the guns down, and Dean stepped forward.

"Who are you?" Lola demanded, as she also made a step forward.

"I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition," he responded. He had a deep voice, that send shivers down Lucia's spine.

"Yeah. Thanks for that." Dean smiled sarcastically, then stabbed him with a silver knife, right in the heart. The angel just looked at it, took it out, and then dropped it. Lucia couldn't see his expression, but she hoped he wasn't offended.

"We need to talk," he said. "It's important."

* * *

**Dean.**

Dean was pissed as Hell. Who was this guy? How come nothing could hurt him? He clenched his fists.

"Who are you?" He demanded.

"I'm Castiel," the man answered.

"I mean, _what_ are you?"

"I'm an angel of the Lord." Castiel's answer stunned him. He glanced at his brother, at Alex, then at Lucia, who was still standing in front of the candles, only this time she was facing them. Dean had never believed in angels. When his mother, Mary, tucked him in bed, she used to say "Angels are watching over us". It was the last thing she'd ever said to him. If the angels were watching over them, then why was she dead?

"Get the hell out of here. There's no such thing." Lola glared at Castiel, and Dean was relieved to find out that he wasn't the only one who didn't believe in angels.

"This is your problem," Castiel stared at Dean, then at Lola. "You have no faith."

Lucia started to move toward them, and joined Alex and Sam behind them. Lightning flashed, and they saw an astral projection of what seemed to be Castiel's wings. Dean couldn't see everyone's reactions. He just knew his. He was stunned as Hell. He wanted to deny it, but how can you deny when you've seen for yourself that nothing can hurt this guy, and that he can project his own black wings?

"So, let's say you really are an angel," Lola said. "This is how you look like?"

"No. My true form can be… overwhelming to humans, and so can my real voice. But you already knew that."

"You mean, the gas station?" Dean remembered. "That was you talking?" Castiel nodded.

"Seriously?" Lola asked. "Dude, next time lower the volume."

"That was my mistake. Certain people, special people, can perceive my true visage. I thought you would be part of them. I was wrong."

"And what visage are you in now, huh? What, holy tax accountant?" Dean asked him. He could feel three people glaring at him, but he didn't care.

"This?" Castiel looked down at himself. "This is a vessel."

"You're possessing some dude? Are you kidding?"

"He's a devout man, he actually prayed for this," the angel told them.

"Yeah, well, I'm not buying what you're selling." Dean told him.

"Me neither," Lola said.

Suddenly, Lucia stepped forward. "Dean, Lola, Castiel isn't just possessing someone. Not like demons. Angels must have the vessel's permission. Otherwise it doesn't work."

"How do you know that?" Lola glared at her.

"I—I don't know," Lucia admitted. "I mean, I just do."

"She is right," Castiel said.

"Okay," Dean said. "So, if you're an angel, and you're possessing some poor bastard, how does that make you better than demons? I mean, for all I know, you could've tortured the guy until he said yes."

"Dean!" Sam protested.

"The difference between angels and demons is that demons are here to destroy you. We, angels, are here to protect you. And we don't force the vessel into saying yes. God would not approve," Castiel explained.

"Well, you can—" Lola started but her sister cut her off.

"Lola!"

"What?" Lola snapped at her sister.

"Angels are God's warriors," Lucia started another one of her explanations. "They follow God's orders, and only his orders. They wouldn't do anything that God wouldn't approve."

"You're like a walking Angel Encyclopedia," Lola commented.

"Tell us," Dean told Castiel. "Why did you bring us back?"

"Good things do happen, Dean."

"Yeah, right." Lola snorted. Alex stepped forward, just to punch her sister in the arm.

"So?" Dean pushed.

Castiel stayed silent for a moment, until he said, "Because God commanded it. Because we have work for you. All of you." He added, staring at all of them. Starting with Sam, then staring at Dean, then Lola, then Alex, and finally Lucia.

Then, with a flutter of wings, Castiel just disappeared.

* * *

They were staying at Alex's house. They had another bedroom, and Dean and Lola were sharing the bed. Sam had to settle for the couch. Lola was asleep, her head over his shoulder, and one arm around him. Dean felt confused. How come she could trust him? Still, he didn't protest. He kinda missed having her besides him.

He had trouble sleeping that night. The events of the day and what happened in Hell kept replaying. They wouldn't stop, and it would make him crazy, but in the end he managed to keep his cool, and moved very little, and when he did, he was careful not to wake Lola up.

Castiel's words had stayed inside Dean's mind, and they refused to leave. Those two sentences made him crazy. He had so many questions he wanted to ask, so many things to tell that "angel". Instead, his words kept replaying in his head, non-stop. _Because God commanded it. Because we have work for you._


	2. Seven Nation Army

Seven Nation Army.

**Lucia.**

_Lucia was walking in the woods. She knew it was dangerous, but she was smart too. She knew it was just a dream. When she was little, whenever she had nightmares, she used to wake up screaming, until one day, her mother told her it was just a dream, and the secret was, she could do whatever she wanted. It was her dream, and only she could control it._

_She heard the leaves moving, but she brushed it off as just the wind. She hadn't been scared of her dreams in a while, she wasn't going to start now. She stopped at a clearing, and closed her eyes. She could hear every single noise in the woods. She felt a ray of sunlight illuminating her face, and she smiled._

_"Hello," she heard a deep voice she recognized almost immediately. It startled her, though, and she jumped._

_"Oh. Hi," she said. Castiel was in front of her, wearing the same thing he'd wore the first time they'd met, two days ago. His suit, and a beige trenchcoat._

_"My apologies," he said. "I did not mean to startle you."_

_"Wait..." Lucia paused. "You're actually in my dream," she realized._

_"Yes," Castiel confirmed. "I need your help." He paused. "Well, yours and your friend's."_

_Lucia took a deep breath. "Okay. What's the problem?"_

_"Azazel's army broke through the Devil's Gates, but you already knew that." Lucia nodded. "They still have leaders, but they are trying to get more soldiers to join their cause. They're convincing righteous people to join them, and they also want to get angels to join their cause. They are searching for a spell that will force angels to do whatever they want. You must stop them before it's too late," Castiel told her._

_Alex had told her everything that had happened, who Azazel was, and how he died. And what had happened to Sam and the other Special Children… "But I thought they didn't have a leader."_

_Castiel opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it immediately and shook his head. "They do. There's more but I cannot tell you. I fear I have told you too much already."_

_Lucia was about to protest, but instead she bit the inside of her cheek and nodded. "All right, then. Anything else you can tell me? I'll tell everyone in the morning."_

_"Yes. They are headed to Kansas City. Belial and Samael are the current leaders of the army of Hell. That is all, I believe," he said, before disappearing._

_Lucia sighed. "Goodbye, Castiel," she said, not knowing for sure if he could hear her or not._

* * *

She woke up at 6 am, as usual. She didn't know why she kept doing it. It was a habit she _could_ break. She'd quit her job, after she'd become a full-time hunter. She'd been reluctant to quit, since one of her goals was to be a famous journalist, but she'd had to do it if she wanted to be involved in this, and for some strange reason, she did want that.

She turned off the alarm clock, and, half-asleep, she did the usual thing. She said her morning prayer. Then she stood up and went to take a shower.

She spent half an hour in the shower, not really wanting to leave. She didn't want to tell the rest what Castiel had told her, she didn't know why. But she would, because she'd see in Castiel's eyes how important that was for him. And of course it was. They were about to force angels, his own siblings, to become fallen angels and join the demons' army. That was against their beliefs.

She got dressed. She wore dark crimson jeans, a black, long-sleeved shirt, and black ankle boots. She wore her hair in a ponytail, and didn't put any makeup on, or jewelry, except for her medallion, which was empty. Jame's picture was still under her _Psycho_ book. Every night, before going to sleep, she'd reach toward the book, lifting it enough to see his picture, but she never got through with it. It was a painful reminder, and the only thing she wanted to do was to move on, because there was no place in her life for his ghost. Not in this new life she was in. Four months had passed, and the pain had diminished a little, but it still hurt a great deal.

She glanced at the book, the picture flashed through her mind, but she just walked out of her room and into the kitchen, ready to prepare breakfast for the team, and she'd tell them about her dream as soon as they were all sitting and eating together.

* * *

**Castiel.**

Castiel was in Heaven. Well, there's not just one Heaven, since each soul creates its own paradise. The Heaven he was in was the one he favored, the eternal Tuesday afternoon of a man who drowned in a bathtub in 1953.

He was sitting down on a bench, thinking about what he'd just done. His superior had told him not to, that they'd take care of it. That had been 3 days ago, right when he came back, after retrieving Dean and Lola from Hell. And after that, it all had gotten worse. Castiel was desperate, hence why he appeared to Lucia in a dream, so no one would spy on them, so they wouldn't blame him. Though Castiel didn't like to lie, he knew that was something that he'd had to do, not just for his own good, but for his brothers and sisters as well.

He looked down at his hands, and thought. They couldn't break the 66 seals. They'd stop Lilith, maybe even kill her before 65 of them were broken. But 15 had been broken already, and it was increasing fast. This seal, the one they wanted to break, was so poweful it wouldn't only break a seal, but also bend angels to their will, and it was dangerous. They could break even more seals with angels at their disposal.

Castiel stayed there for a while, admiring the place he was in. He really favored the man's Tuesday. It was peaceful, and the sunshine lit every single place. There weren't many places that were hidden underneath a shadow. Castiel wished he could stay there forever, peaceful, not wanting to be found. But he had things to do, and he sighed as he teleported himself once again.

* * *

**Lola.**

Lola woke up in a start.

She'd had another nightmare. Since she'd come back from Hell, every time she tried to sleep, she had a nightmare. She could've handled it, but what she saw in her nightmares were her memories of Hell. She really didn't want to think about it anymore, but it wasn't a thing she could just forget.

She woke up wrapped in Dean's arms. It had become a habit, since the night they'd stayed at Alex's for the first time. Lola closed her eyes once again and took a deep breath. Her head was resting against Dean's chest, and she could hear his heart beating. She found that oddly comforting and reassuring, and she almost fell back to sleep.

Almost.

_This is ridiculous_, she thought. _I can't spend the rest of my life not sleeping just because of some stupid ass nightmares._

Still, she wouldn't sleep. She would never admit it, not even to herself, but she was a bit afraid of those nightmares. She didn't want to relive the pain she'd had to deal with, for what felt like 40 years. But she did go through it again, every single night. And, to be honest, she was getting tired of it.

She felt Dean shifting under her and she opened her eyes once again. Dean was still asleep. Careful not to wake him, Lola managed to stand up, leaving Dean alone in bed. She stared at him for a few seconds, memorized every single detail about his face, then shook her head and picked up some clothes before going to the bathroom.

There, she took a shower and got dressed. She was wearing jeans, as usual, a black shirt with a gray skull on it, and a black pair of converse. She didn't put on any makeup, but she brushed her hair and then walked into the kitchen, just to find Lucia preparing breakfast.

"Hey," she said.

"Good morning," Lucia greeted. "Did you sleep well?"

"Fine," Lola lied. It came out so nonchalantly, Lola almost believed it herself. "You?"

"Fine too, thanks for asking." Lola sneaked a glance at what Lucia was cooking. Eggs and bacon, that was good.

"Uh, hey, so, any news from Cass?" Lola asked. Dean had started to call Castiel "Cass", and it was catchy. Soon, all of them were calling him Cass, except for Lucia, who, for some reason, insisted on calling him by his full name.

"Yes, actually." Lola expected her to elaborate, but Lucia didn't. Instead, she said, "I'll tell you when everyone's up."

Only then, Lola noticed Lucia was worried. "Oh, come on, Lu," she said. "Something's wrong, I can see that." Dean had also started calling Lucia "Lu", and it was catchy as well.

"That's exactly why I'm going to tell you what Castiel said just once. Here." Lu gave her a plate with two fried eggs and bacon. "Here's your breakfast."

"Where's yours?" Lola asked.

"Here," Lucia answered as she placed two fried eggs on another plate. Then she put a piece of bacon on it.

Lola remembered how she'd acted around Lucia at first. To be honest? She'd been incredibly jealous. The first day after Castiel's first appearance, she'd been a bit of a bitch to Lucia, and it had been worse when Alex had told her the truth. Apparently, Alex and Lucia were sisters. Like, _really_ sisters. Alex had been adopted. Incredible. She'd been gone for four months and everything she thought she knew had been proved wrong. She poured herself some coffee and sat down at the bar-like table. She remembered how, after a little talk with Alex — which she'd dreaded at the time and now she chose to forget about it — she'd managed to become less of a bitch and actually tried to get to know Lucia better. Mostly for Alex's sake, but she found out Lu was actually a very nice person and she'd been a bitch for no reason at all, so she kinda tried to make up for it, in her own way.

"Does this mean you found us a case?" Lola asked, hopeful. As much as she loved spending time with her sister and everyone else, just relaxing and doing nothing, she missed the thrill that each case brought in. She wanted to go on a hunt; not an easy one, but not a hard one either.

"Yes," Lucia answered. "But you might not like it," she warned.

"Okay." Lola nodded. "So, whenever you speak to Cass, you're going to start talking all formal too?"

Lucia didn't say anything. She blushed slightly — Lola could still see it, though — and she developed a sudden interest in her food. She brought a bite of eggs to her mouth.

Lola raised her hands, in surrender. "Okay, okay, don't tell me anything now. You can tell me later, when there are no PEOPLE SPYING ON US!" She yelled the last part when she'd realized Sam — who'd been sleeping on the couch — was actually awake and listening in to their conversation.

She turned around to see Sam standing up and rubbing his eyes before making his way to them.

"Sorry." He smiled apologetically. Lola glared at him reproachfully, but then she snorted to show she was kidding and kept on eating.

"You'll have to make your own breakfast, kid," Lola told him. He made a bitchface at her. "What?" She looked up at him, innocently.

Sam glared at her and walked into the kitchen. "Whatever," he said.

"That's what I thought," Lola said, smugly.

Sam snorted, but he didn't say anything. Minutes later he was sitting with them, drinking coffee.

Dean arrived soon after, fully dressed. "Hey, what's up?" He asked.

"Lu has news from Cas, but she doesn't want to tell us anything," Lola said.

"What? Why?" Dean asked.

"I'm waiting for everyone to be here, I don't want to have to repeat the story," Lucia explained.

Lola rolled her eyes as she finished her breakfast. Dean poured himself some coffee, and sat down besides her. She knew he hadn't been sleeping well. It was obvious. She hadn't been able to sleep well because of Hell, and Dean'd had it worse than she had. She wished he would be completely fine, but that wasn't the case. She knew that very well. Otherwise, Dean wouldn't have trouble meeting her eyes, or being around her, acting the way it was before. Lola knew he blamed himself, and she hated it, because she knew it wasn't his fault. More like, Hell turned him into that.

"What's up?" Alex said, arriving, also fully dressed. She poured herself some coffee, orange juice and grabbed an apple.

"Finally! You're up!" Lola smiled at her sister. "Lu can tell us about her dream now."

Alex gave Lucia a knowing look, and Lola knew what it was about, so she smiled. "Was it about a certain angel?" Alex asked, smirking.

Lucia blushed slightly. "It's not what you think. _He_ appeared in my dream. Said he had a message."

"Go on," Dean urged her. Lucia explained her dream. "Wait—so the angels need our help. Why? Can't they stop it themselves?" Dean received three glares, and Lola rolled her eyes. Honestly? She was grateful, because Castiel had brought them back, but she didn't want to get more mixed up on this. She had a bad feeling about it.

"Dean's right," she added. "I don't want to do it. I mean, I'm grateful and all, but this is out of our league." Alex stared at her like she'd grown a third head. "What?" She demanded.

"Since when is something 'out of your league'?" Alex asked her. Lola didn't answer, bringing the coffee cup to her lips and drinking a bit. "Whatever," Alex said. "I say we do it."

"Me too," Sam and Lucia said at the same time.

"That's three against two," Alex said. "Come on, let's hurry, we need to get to Kansas City as soon as we can."

* * *

**Dean.**

Dean drove, taking the lead, because he knew he was the fastest driver of all of them, Lola being close by, and he wanted to get the job done as soon as possible. To be honest, he'd been hitching for a job, but he didn't want to be involved in the angel business. Not really.

He knew if he drove, they'd get there in 1 day, maybe even less, instead of the 1 day 2 hours drive. He was a pro on reckless driving. He'd never had an accident before — not one that he'd cause anyway — and he wasn't gonna start now. He loved his Baby too much for that.

Sam was sitting besides him, staring out the window. Dean had told him he didn't remember his time in Hell, and Lola had done the same with her sister and Lucia. He didn't want to worry his brother, and he was sure Lola didn't want to worry her sister. It was better that way. There was nothing they could do to make it better. The only thing that kept him alive was Sam. Well, Sam and Lola. To be honest, he felt like he wanted to make it up to her, somehow, but he knew it wasn't possible. Nothing he could ever do would make what happened hurt less. Even if he hadn't really done anything, he knew he would have. He had to thank Castiel for that.

During the drive, he didn't try to start a conversation with his brother. He wanted to be left alone. So he did the same thing he did every time they moved around. Put a cassette tape on the radio of the car, and he listened to classic rock as they drove. He'd chose one tape of his favorite band, Led Zeppelin, and was bobbing his head along with the music, but he wasn't really paying attention to the lyrics. He was lost in his thoughts, but at the same time he had the exact amount of attention he needed focused on the driving. Like I said, he didn't want to cause a car accident.

10 hours had passed already and he looked in the review mirror to make sure Lola and the girls were following. He looked back to the road as soon as he confirmed the Mustang was still behind them. He pushed the pedal a bit more, and the car went faster and faster. He wanted to get there soon. He was impatient, hitching for a hunt, and also wanted it to end soon.

* * *

8 hours later he stopped the car at a motel a couple of towns away from Kansas City. It was 3 am and his eyes were closing. He knew he couldn't drive that way so he woke Sam up, and told him to call the girls. They got three motel rooms, and Dean would've chosen to be with his brother if it wasn't because he knew that he wouldn't be able to hide his memories of Hell from him if he woke up like every other night, with a scream stuck in his throat, a wave of guilt washing over him again, and again, and again. So he took the room with a king-sized bed for him and Lola, while Alex and Lucia got the one with two queens, and Sam stayed at the one with a single bed.

He was lying on the bed, waiting for Lola to come out of the bathroom, when he was struck by a flashback and suddenly, he was in Hell again, being tortured. But that wasn't the worse part.

* * *

_Alastair was in front of him, smiling wickedly._

_"Are you sure you want me to keep going?" He asked, not even bothering to mask his cruelness. "You know what to do. Just say it." He smirked and cut his stomach. It was a deep cut, and Dean would've doubled in pain if it wasn't because he had chains on his hands and ankles, and there was a hook through his right shoulder. Tears were streaming down his face, but his face was also covered in sweat and blood, and the tears, the sweat and the blood was all mixed together. "Just say it." Alastair repeated. "Do it."_

_Dean didn't want to, but the pain, it was just too much. "I—I'll do it," he croaked. "Just lemme outta here," he slurred, his vision covered in yellow and black spots._

_Alastair laughed. "Finally," he said as he grinned. "Welcome to the club."_

* * *

"Dean!" He heard a scream. "Dean! Dean, for God's sake, get your shit together!" His vision was blurry, but he concentrated on the forms and the colors, and suddenly, he could see perfectly fine. Lola was in front of him, and she slapped him.

"What the hell?" He asked, bringing his hand to his cheek. He wouldn't admit it, but that had hurt.

"You weren't responding," she shrugged. "Flashback?"

"Yeah." Dean looked down. He was grateful Lola wasn't like Sam—the one who wanted him to talk about it. She would talk only if he wanted to, and even then she'd be reluctant to do it. Dean knew that, because he was like that as well, and he sure as Hell didn't want to talk about it. He saw Lola nod, and she laid down besides him.

"Good thing Sam doesn't know," she said.

"Let's keep it that way."

"Ditto." There was a moment of silence. It was a comfortable one, and Dean thought he was going to fall asleep, even with the lights on. But before he could, Lola broke the silence. "Why do you think Cass wants us to stop the demons?"

"I don't know," Dean answered, honestly. "Maybe the angels are too lazy to do it themselves?" He proposed, half-joking, and Lola laughed as he chuckled.

"Yeah. Could be." Her head was resting against his shoulder, and Dean wanted to kiss her more than anything, but he was afraid to do it, so he stayed there, and instead put an arm around her shoulders.

"Goodnight," he said, turning off the lights.

"Yeah, hopefully," Lola said. "You too."

* * *

**Alex.**

They were back on the road. The normal timing to get to Kansas City was 6 hours from the motel they'd stayed at, but with Dean driving and taking the lead, she knew it was going to be 4 hours instead.

She finished brushing her teeth and packed the rest of her stuff, then walked out and put it in the trunk of the Mustang. Then she gave her key to Sam, who was going to check out for them. Lola entered the car first, and Alex sat down on the passenger seat, and Lucia on the backseat.

Lola connected her new iPod to the radio of the car, and put on Seven Nation Army, by the White Stripes.

The three of them were nodding along, as they drove. "So, this angel of yours, he talked again?" Lola asked Lucia, glancing at the review mirror.

Lucia nodded, but looked at the window a little too quickly, so Alex knew she was lying. She couldn't help it, and grinned. "You know you can tell us, right?" She teased.

"It's nothing," Lucia mumbled. Lola laughed, btu didn't ask any more questions. If it had something to do with their case, Lucia would've told them.

* * *

They'd finally arrived at Kansas City, and they stopped at a random place, not really knowing where to go.

They parked the cars, and then, after a moment debating, they decided Lucia would call Castiel for help.

"Castiel, Angel of Thursday," Lucia started her prayer. Alex remembered how, before every hunt they'd go on, Lucia would pray, just for luck. After a while, Alex started doing it too, even if she didn't really care if God could hear them or not. Alex had never been one to worry about that, always staying on neutral grounds, but now, discovering that angels existed, it seemed logical that God existed too.

They waited a minute, and then Castiel appeared, wearing his usual attire.

"You called," Castiel said, which made them turn around, since he'd just appeared behind them, and he would've startled them if they hadn't been waiting for him.

"Yes," Lucia said. "We're here. Do you know what part of the city the demons are headed?" She asked him. Castiel glanced up, then around.

"You must be careful," he said and was about to say something else when Dean interrupted him.

"You don't say," he said, sarcastically. Alex glared at him, and realized Sam was glaring at Dean too.

Castiel tilted his head, and narrowed his eyes at Dean. Alex realized he hadn't gotten the sarcasm, and probably wondered why he would say something like that.

"I do know something. There is a witch in town, and she knows the spell. You have to get to her now."

"Wait there, buddy," Dean interrupted him, once again. "First, you need to tell us what this is all about. I mean, there is obviously more to the story, but you're just keeping it to yourself. You better tell us now."

Castiel didn't answer. Instead, he put two fingers to Lucia's forehead, and then, when he retrieved his hand, he disappeared.

"The hell was that?" Lola asked.

"I know where the witch is," Lucia said. "Follow me."

* * *

**Sam.**

Sam wasn't too excited to go after a witch. Or having to face the demons. Not like that, not without Ruby's help. He knew if Dean found out what he'd been doing, he'd be pissed as Hell, but he prefered to have Dean mad at him than getting one of them killed. He walked away from the group and called Ruby, telling her where they were and they needed her help. She said she'd go soon, but she was busy.

Sam sighed and walked back toward his friends. He'd told Alex about Ruby, and what they were doing, hoping she'd understand, that she wouldn't judge him. After all, she was a psychic too, if she hadn't been lying to him, but what else explained the fact that she could read other people's minds and talk to them using telepathy? Sam had told her she could train herself, with Ruby's help, but she'd refused, saying she'd train herself, and Sam hadn't insisted. If what Alex had said had been true, she could now move objects with her mind, and he had to admit that was pretty cool.

As they approached a building, Sam unconsciously reached for Ruby's demon-killing knife inside his jacket. Maybe the demons were already there. And without Ruby, he couldn't really do anything to help. Without his powers, he felt useless.

Truth was, he owed Ruby for saving his life. After finding out the demon Lilith was the one holding Dean's contract, he went to kill her, wanting revenge. Maybe even hoping he'd get Dean and Lola back.

They knocked on the appartment's door, and a woman opened. She was in her fifties, and had curly auburn hair and brown eyes.

"What do you want? She asked. Sam opened his mouth to say something, but Lola pushed past him and burst through the door, pinning the woman against the wall, and she had a silver knife against her throat.

"Who the hell are you?" She demanded. Before the woman could answer, Lola cut her, a non-fatal cut. "You're not a shifter nor a revenant so WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

"Easy there, Lola." Dean managed to get Lola away from the woman.

"Lola?" The woman asked, disbelief clear in her voice. "You can't be. Lola Vinson?"

Sam was confused. He also realized it was the first time he heard Lola's last name.

"Yeah," Lola spat, glaring at the woman. Good thing Dean was restraining her. "You better start talking now or I swear to God—"

"It's you." The woman said. "I—I'm sorry… My name's Amberlee," she said to the rest of the group. "You might want to sit down, it's a long story."

* * *

"So, _you're _Lola's mom. I've heard about you," Dean said, glaring at her. Sam didn't know why, and he wasn't sure if he would find out.

The woman laughed humorlessly. "Nothing good I'm guessing."

"Is there anything good about you?" Lola asked.

The woman pretended to be hurt. "Don't be like that, sweetheart."

"Don't call me that," Lola snapped.

"But she's right," Dean said. "I mean, what kind of bitch are you, that fakes her own death just get back to her… _witchy_ ways?"

Amberlee was about to respond, but Alex interrupted them.

"So," she said. "We're here because we need your help." _Straight to the point_, Sam thought.

"Yes, yes, I figured. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

"We were told you knew a spell that allowed someone to control angels," Sam said.

"Why, yes I do. But, why do you want it?" She asked.

"We don't _want_ it," Sam explained. "We want to stop demons from getting to it."

"And why should I trust you?" Amberlee raised an eyebrow.

"Look, you don't have to trust us. You just have to burn that spell and we'll get out of here." Dean said, still glaring at her. He had an arm around Lola's shoulder, and Sam thought it was weird. Lola wouldn't want to seem weak, not in front of her mother, and she hadn't brushed Dean's arm away. It made him think about his theory. He knew something was off about those two. Something that wouldn't be off if they didn't remember Hell.

"What if I don't want to?"

"Well, then, you better—" Dean was interrupted by the sound of the door breaking down. They turned toward it, and they found a woman with short dirty blond hair and blue eyes staring at them. She was wearing a tight violet tank top, a black leather jacket over it, black jeans and black boots.

"Guys! Glad to find you here!" She said, as her eyes turned completely white.

"Lilith." Sam gritted his teeth. The demon shook her head.

"Oh, no, dear. You've got it wrong. I'm not Lilith."

"Then who the hell are you?" Alex demanded.

"Name's Amy. You should be afraid, you know?" She smirked. "I'm one of Hell's presidents."

"Hell has presidents?" Sam wondered out loud.

"Of course it has! Did you think only you puny little humans could have those?" She snorted. "Please, _I_ was the one who brought democracy to Greece, not that moron."

"You mean Cleisthenes?" Alex frowned. "But then your name wouldn't be Amy, would it?"

Amy smiled. "I have many names, Alexandra." Alex looked surprised at Amy, probably because she'd said her full name. "Amy is my favorite."

"Enough with the history/etymology lesson. It's giving me a headache," Lola protested. "Just go away, you don't stand a chance against us," she told Amy.

"Oh, is that so?" She smirked, and Amberlee flew against the wall. She started choking to death. "Don't worry, I'm sure Astaroth will take care of her."

As if on cue, black smoke entered through the window, breaking it, and entered Amberlee's body. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, they were completely black.

"Hello, Sam," she said.

Sam immediately recognized her. "How did you come back?"

"Well, you didn't stab me with that knife of yours, so of course I did. Hell isn't as well guarded as it was, but you already knew that." She glanced at Dean and Lola. "I'm sure you've told your friends about your, uh, extra-curricular activities, right?" She smiled, and Sam swallowed. He knew Dean was staring at him, waiting for him to say something, but he didn't. Instead, he glared at Astaroth.

They all made a silent agreement, and Sam immediately threw himself against Astaroth, and started fighting her. He dodged a punch, and he pinned the demon to the ground, but he was pushed back by an invisble force and he ended up pinned to the wall, and he couldn't move. He could see Alex and Lucia fighting Amy, while Dean and Lola tried to take down Astaroth, but she pinned them to the wall as well.

Amy was having fun with Alex and Lucia, but she was starting to get bored, and threw Lucia against the furniture, over and over, until she was bleeding, bruised, and unconscious.

Alex threw Holy Water at Amy, but she only laughed. "Really? You want to use Holy Water against me?" She grabbed Alex by the neck and pinned her to the wall. "I'm not that easy to beat." Alex was choking. Sam wanted to say something, just her name, but he couldn't speak either, probably because of Astaroth. Dean and Lola had been knocked out already, he realized, and as soon as Alex fell unconscious, Amy let her go, and Sam sighed because Alex was going to live. If they could get out of there.

Astaroth approached him, and caressed his face, before walking away, to Lucia, grabbing her and disappearing at the same time Amy did. Sam fell to the ground, breathing heavily.

* * *

**Lucia.**

She decided she would never hunt again unless she'd said a prayer. She knew she should have, but she hadn't thought demons would've gotten there so quickly. She pretended she was sleeping, and decided to say a silent prayer.

_Angel of God,_

_My Guardian Dear,_

_To whom His love commits me here,_

_Ever this day be at my side,_

_To light and to guard,_

_To rule and guide._

_Amen._

She could feel tears welling up behind her eyes, but she knew that if she didn't open her eyes, she wouldn't cry. And she definitely didn't want to cry. The demons had gotten to her, and they'd tied her up. She also had a cloth pressed against her mouth, preventing her from speaking.

She was getting desperate. Panic welled up in her chest, and she soon opened her eyes and tried to break the rope that tied her hands together, but the knot was too strong and she was only hurting herself. She wouldn't give up, though, because that pain was nothing compared to the panic she was feeling at the moment.

She fought, and fought, and tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them back.

Then, Amy entered the room. "Well, hello there." She grinned. "Glad you woke up. We were expecting you to. I mean, you have what we need."

_And what is that? _She wanted to ask, but the cloth prevented her from speaking, and besides her throat was closing. Panic did that to you. She kept fighting to break the rope.

"Oh, don't bother, I tied you up myself. I need you to be perfect, we _are_ going to sacrifice you after all."

If it had been possible, Lucia's eyes would've widened even more. She'd never thought she'd be used as a blood sacrifice. She stopped fighting for a moment and touched her purity ring. She'd made promise, and look where that had gotten her. She sure as Hell didn't want to be used as a blood sacrifice, but she wanted to keep her promise too. Why did they always use virgins for blood sacrifices?

Amy straightened, as if she'd heard something, then she smiled. "Looks like we have guests." She winked at her and walked out of the room.

_Oh, come on!_ Lucia tried to think of a way to escape. She tried to calm herself down, but the only thing that worked was the fact that she'd prayed just before Amy had appeared. She wasn't completely calm, though. She was still panicking, only now she could look at her surroundings and think rationally. She started to swing on the chair, trying to fall on her back, and when she did, she cried out, because of the pain. She was sure no one had heard her because of the cloth, but she didn't care.

She didn't even want to guess the state of her hands. She tried rolling around, trying to break the wooden chair she was in, but it wasn't helping. Using what ever strength she had left, she stood up on her feet, then jumped on her back again, breaking two of the chair's feet, and a part of the back. Her arms, though, were hurting as Hell, and she was probably bleeding.

Lucia managed to get her hands off the back of the chair, but her torso was still tied to it. She found a pocket knife in her jeans' pocket and she managed to cut the rope around her hands, and around her body. Then, she took off the cloth and sighed in relief.

That's when she looked at her arms. There were marks around her wrists, that went deep on her skin, and it hurt just to touch them. She winced, and tried to stand up. She opened the door, and carefully peeked around, but there was no one in sight.

Her heart was beating so fast she could hear it, she walked toward the end of the corridor, and turned right. Then she turned left. She went around, trying to find an exit, but she didn't find one. She didn't find any demons either until she found the place where they were all fighting.

Lola, Sam, Dean and Alex were there, fighting against six demons. They were outnumbered slightly. Lucia gripped her knife tight, and as soon as one demon made a step back toward her, she cut his head off.

The body fell, revealing Alex, who was holding a silver knife that had been dipped in both, holy water and salt. She seemed relieved when she saw her. Alex ran up to her and hugged her.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she said.

Then they kept fighting demons, but it was hard. Lucia decided to draw a devil's trap, and then she called out to Amy, who turned toward her. She was furious.

Lucia ran toward the place where she'd made the devil's trap, but Amy wasn't that stupid. She surrounded the trap, and then lunged at her. She'd beaten her up pretty hard.

Whatever cuts she'd had that had started to heal were re-opened, and she'd had even more wounds. Her shirt was ripped off at several places, and so were her jeans.

She had an idea, though. She dragged herself underneath the Devil's trap. It was an enochian one, that Castiel had put into her mind when he'd given her the directions to Amberlee's house. He'd said it would weaken even the most powerful demons.

Amy, who had started laughing, stopped when she realized where she was, and growled.

"You want me," Lucia croaked. "Come and get me." It was getting hard for her to breathe. Amy chuckled, and used her powers to push her against the wall.

"I'm not the one under a Devil's trap," she said. "I can still use my powers."

Lucia closed her eyes, just for a second, and she dropped to the ground. She opened them, puzzled. Amy wouldn't have let her go, not like that. She was surprised by what she saw. Castiel, wielding a strange, silvery blade, which was stained with blood, and Amy on the ground. He approached her, and helped her up.

"Are you okay?" Castiel asked her. Lucia nodded. Their hands were still locked together, and for some reason, neither of them would let go.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said, letting go of her hand, and disappeared.

* * *

**Castiel.**

Castiel reappeared later, when Lucia was in a motel room, alone. Well, she wasn't exactly in a motel room. She'd gone out for a walk, and Castiel had found her. He wanted to talk to her alone, he wanted to explain everything he hadn't. Because he knew she would find out, sooner or later, and he preferred it to be sooner. Besides, for some unknown reason, _he_ wanted to be the one to tell her. Castiel wasn't used to emotions, since his angelic nature prevented him from feeling, but lately, he had been feeling strange, something he figured were feelings, but he didn't know which, and, to be honest? It was a bit scary.

"Hello," he said. Lucia turned to face him, a bit startled. He was about to apologize, but she spoke first.

"Hi. What are you doing here?" She asked.

Castiel hesitated. Should he tell her? Yes, he decided. That was what he was here for, right? His mind, however, was looking for a reason to procrastinate. He looked at her, analyzing her, until he got to her wrists. They were badly damaged.

"What happened to you?" He asked, still staring at her wrists.

"Oh, this?" She held up her hands. "Nothing. The rope was too tight."

Castiel frowned, and put two fingers to Lucia's forehead. She was instantly healed, from every single cut she had, not just her wrists.

When he put his arm down, Lucia smiled. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He paused. Then finally, he told her. "That is not why I'm here."

Lucia nodded, understanding. Since Castiel wasn't speaking, she said, "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Castiel was puzzled. No one had ever told him something like that, not even in Heaven. He'd always had to keep things to himself. He narrowed his eyes a bit, then nodded. "What the demons were here for wasn't just a spell," he said. "The spell, binding angels to their will, was something they had to do, because it would break a seal." He waited for her to ask what a seal was, but she didn't. She stared at him, as if waiting for him to say more. He did. "When God cast Lucifer down to Hell, he put him in a Cage, and created 600 seals that would open it. Only 66 of those have to be broken to let Lucifer free. Binding angels to their will isn't one of them, but with the spell, they _will_ use angels to break more seals in a shorter amount of time. Lucifer will rise soon if we don't stop this."

Lucia stayed quiet for a moment. "Well, you can count on us. We'll help you. You just have to tell us what to do."

Castiel was pleased to find that Lucia trusted him so strongly. "Of course," he said.

"I'm sorry we couldn't stop them," Lucia said, and she actually sounded sorry. And worried, too. Castiel was sure he would never get to understand humans. They were all too different from each other. He kind of liked that about them, because they weren't alike at all. Neither physically, or psychologically.

"It's okay," he said. "You did your best." Castiel was impressed with himself. He wasn't sure if he would've said that to someone else.

"We'll do better next time," Lucia told him.

"I certainly hope so," he said. He was about to disappear, when he noticed Lucia was slightly shaking. A human wouldn't have noticed, but he _was_ an angel after all. He knew she wasn't scared. He looked inside Jimmy—his vessel—'s mind, trying to find the word. He tilted his head to the side "Are you cold?"

Lucia looked like she would say no, but instead she nodded. Castiel put a hand on her shoulder, and they appeared in Lucia's motel room, where, he guessed, was warmer. Castiel didn't feel cold or warm, so he could just guess that a closed space would be warmer than the outside.

Lucia looked around, and smiled a little. "Thank you, Castiel." That was the third time she'd thanked him today.

"You're welcome." He was about to disappear, to go back to heaven. But before he did, he said, "Take care of yourself."

* * *

**Lola.**

Lola couldn't sleep. It wasn't just because of the nightmares. It was because she still wasn't over the shock that _her mother had been a freaking witch_. And one that knew about angels and how to bend them to your will! Of course, she'd had to put that thought aside to go rescue Lucia and stop the demons from performing the spell.

And they'd stopped them from performing the spell, all right. She replayed the events of the evening. Them getting to the building, having to fight six demons on their own, and then she'd seen Lucia arrive, drag Amy elsewhere, and they only had five demons to deal with, one of them being in her mother's body. Lola didn't care much about her mother, so if she had to kill her, she wouldn't mind. Dean was right after all. What kind of a bitch faked her own death and sent her only daughter away just to get back to her sorcery practices?

And just when she'd thought they'd never make it, Castiel appeared, and killed three of the demons, while Sam killed one with a strange demon-killing knife he had. The last demon, Astaroth, the one who was in her mother's body, fled the scene before someone killed her. Bad thing was, she was the one who knew the spell. Castiel had gone to save Lucia, and when they'd all found her again, she was alone, pretty beaten up.

They were resting now, at a motel, or at least trying to. Lola snorted, remembering the car trip. For some reason, she knew their lives had changed now, and not for the better. Would she be able to make more jokes like at the car trip? Maybe.

_God, I'm being too pessimistic_, she rolled her eyes at herself.

She looked up at Dean sleeping, and she knew he was having nightmares. Lola, acting on impulse, kissed Dean, who didn't wake up, but held her closer to him, and with more strength. Lola sighed, and rested her head against him, and tried to sleep once again, not knowing if she preferred thinking about the events of the day or what had happened in Hell.


	3. I Can Do Better

**A/N: Well, shit. I haven't updated in two weeks. Sorry! I'm really, really sorry. Worst part is I'd already had this done for a while now. I guess I was too tired to log in (you gotta blame school for that one). But hey, I promise I won't skip any other week as long as I still have chapters to post. Again, sorry!**

**CookieFanGirl:**** I'm glad you've read all of it and liked it! Thank you! And of course I'll finish this. I wouldn't have posted it if I wasn't planning on finishing it (actually, I have season 2 finished, but I still have to start season 3... I promise I _will_ start and finish it). Hope you like this chapter!**

I Can Do Better.

**Sam.**

Sam was glad he was the one who slept in the room with a single bed, because if he shared a room with Dean, he'd have to sneak out of the room, being as silent as possible, and he didn't like it. At least now he could pretend he was still hunting alone, and he didn't have to hide things from his brother. He wished he didn't have to.

He closed the motel room after confirming he had the key in his pocket, and walked toward the Impala. He started the car and drove away, and in an hour he was in another town.

He stopped the car and Ruby appeared in the passenger seat. She was a short brunette, who had brown eyes and long hair. "You ready?"

Sam didn't even hesitate. He nodded. "Absolutely."

"Then let's get going. You might want to get some sleep, or Dean will be suspicious," she pointed out.

"Yeah, I know." Sam hated having to hide things from his brother, but he knew it was the only way he could keep doing what he did. "Let's go."

* * *

**Dean.**

Dean woke up in a start. He still had nightmares about Hell, and it was getting worse. He stood up, careful not to wake Lola up, and walked into the bathroom, to take a shower.

When he got out, Lola was just waking up. "Morning," he said. "What d'ya want for breakfast?"

"Food," a half-sleeping Lola answered.

"You don't say."

"Shut up." Lola threw a pillow at him but he dodged it and it ended up on the floor. "I'm going to shower."

"And I'll get pie," Dean called out as Lola slammed the bathroom door shut.

Dean walked out of the motel room, the Impala's keys in hand, and stopped dead in his tracks when he realized his car wasn't there anymore.

"What the Hell?"

* * *

**Castiel.**

"I need your help. Someone is turning good christians into satanists," Castiel said. He'd appeared in another one of Lucia's dreams.

She turned around, and nodded. She was used already to having him appear in one of her dreams. At least that's what Castiel figured. "Where?"

"Salt Lake City," Castiel responded.

"All right. We'll go in the morning," Lucia said.

"You do know it's 11 already," Castiel tilted his head, "don't you?"

Lucia's eyes widened. "I had no idea. We'll go as soon as we all wake up, then." Castiel nodded, curtly, and disappeared.

He was back in Heaven, his favorite one. He hoped his superior wouldn't call him. Castiel didn't want him to know that he was cooperating with humans, but whoever was breaking the seal under Lilith's orders had been smart. He'd put up wardings against angels, and he couldn't stop it. He needed Lucia's help.

Unfortunately for him, he was called, and the Heaven he was in changed, and he was in an office. He wondered whose Heaven it was. Castiel was sure none of the humans' happiest memories were in a workplace. The black chair swirled around, and a man, who had to be in his late fifties, and had white hair, faced him. Castiel bowed his head. "Zachariah."

"Castiel," his superior greeted.

"You called," Castiel said, seeing that Zachariah wasn't saying anything else.

"Yes." He gestured him to sit down, and Castiel obeyed. "I see you've contacted the humans to do your job."

This was what Castiel feared. He didn't let it show, though. He nodded, and explained. "The Church has wardings against angels, and the demon won't come out. Asking them was the only option I had."

"Castiel, I don't want to have them do your job," Zachariah noted.

"I understand. I will ask them to remove the wardings so I can stop the demon."

"Excellent." Zachariah nodded, and looked down at some papers over the desk. "You're dismissed." He snapped his fingers and Castiel was in his favorite Heaven again. He sighed. This was going to be more difficult than he'd thought.

* * *

**Alexandra.**

"Hey! Wake up!" Alex shook her sister awake. "It's 11 already!"

Lucia blinked at first, then rubbed her eyes. "I know. Castiel told me. Seems like we have a job to do."

"Another seal?" Alex asked. Lucia had told them about the seals, and how they had to stop them from being broken. They'd been driving around the country, everywhere where there were any demonic omens, to see if they accidentally stopped some seals from breaking. But so far, they hadn't found anything. Lucia nodded. "Let's go then. Here's your breakfast." She gave Lucia a coffee and a sandwich. "We need to meet up with the others."

* * *

They were in Dean's room, all sitting around the table. Lucia told them what Castiel had told her, and Alex was impressed by how little information he had given them. Usually, he would've told them even more, but Lucia had said he'd been really formal and somewhat secretive. She knew it bothered her, and Alex made a mental note to have a little chat with Lucia as soon as the case was over.

When she was about to enter the Mustang's backseat — Lucia and her decided they would alternate whoever went on the passenger seat after every stop — when Sam stopped her.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" He asked her.

Alex nodded, and they moved away from the others.

"What's up?" She asked.

"I went out with Ruby last night, but I couldn't come back by the time when Dean woke up and he knows I borrowed the car. If he asks you can you _please_ tell him we were together or something? Just—I don't want him to find out about Ruby and what we're doing yet."

Alex's heart sank when she heard what Sam had said. She knew he meant they were out training and killing demons, but still, Alex knew it wasn't just that. And the fact that he was asking her to tell his brother that they were together last night made it even worse. The pain on her chest was so bad, she didn't know if she wanted to cry, or throw up, or punch him. Instead, she faked a smile and nodded. "Sure."

Sam sighed in relief. "Thank you," he said, and hugged her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." Alex couldn't help but hug him back, even though her heart was literally breaking.

"No problem, really," she lied. "I've got to go back," she said and Sam let go of her. "See ya." She smiled at him and turned around. As soon as she did her smile dropped, and she hurried to the car and closed the door.

Her sisters noticed. "It's about _her,_ isn't it?" Lucia asked. Lola frowned at her choice of words but looked at her questioningly.

"Yeah." Alex sighed. "Just drive." She told her sister, as she picked up her iPod and put on the earphones. She put on some classical music, which is what she listened to when she needed to think, or when she was depressed, and stared out the window. She planned on doing that during the whole drive, because she sure as Hell wasn't in the mood to talk, and Lola couldn't know who Ruby was. She would tell Dean when he found out, and Alex was a good friend, and she would do everything in her power to keep Sam's secret, even if it meant lying to her sister.

* * *

**Lola.**

"What's up with her?" Lola asked Lucia. "I just saw her once like this, and the guy ended up in the hospital. It wasn't Alex's fault!" She added when Lucia stared at her incredulously. "I just happened to find out and decided the guy needed to learn a lesson."

"It's Sam. Alex thinks he has a girlfriend. And, well, we've met her and it did look like they were dating." Lucia shrugged. "But the rest… The rest is a long story. You'll have to ask her." She pointed at Alex, who was looking out the window.

"She'll never tell me anything," Lola protested.

"I'm sorry," Lucia said, before looking out the window too. Lola sighed and put some Red Hot Chilli Peppers on.

It would take them 22 hours out of the 1 day and 1 hour of the usual road time to get there, but Lola supposed it would take them even more if they stopped to sleep at a motel. She made Lucia call the Winchesters and tell them if they needed to rest, to pull over and switch drivers. They needed to get this done as fast as they could.

In the middle of the trip, Castiel appeared in the backseat. Neither her nor Lucia had noticed until Alex jumped, startled. Lucia turned around, and Lola looked at the rearview mirror.

"Hey, Lu, your angel is here," Lola teased her. Lucia blushed slightly, and glared at Lola.

"Hi, Castiel," she greeted.

"Hello," he said. "I'm sorry for startling you."

"It's okay," Alex said, taking her earphones off. "What's the problem?"

"I thought you might need help. This is no low-level demon. It is a really powerful one, and under Lilith's orders, it will be hard for you to stop him," he explained.

"No problem, just, would you mind riding with the guys? This car's a bit full anyway." Lola asked, and Castiel nodded once, and disappeared. "Hey, Alex."

Alex looked at her sister, even though the latter could only see her through the rearview mirror. "Long story," she said. She'd probably guessed what she was going to ask her about. "I'll tell you later."

"Uh, sure." Lola wasn't convinced, but she let it go and she saw how Alex put her earphones back on. She sighed. It was going to be a long trip.

* * *

**Lucia.**

So, maybe, just maybe, Lucia was a little bit pissed at Lola because she'd told Cass to ride in the other car. Then again, she pushed the thought away. It was ridiculous. He was an _angel!_ And she was just a human. There was nothing special about her. She looked down at her hands, and played with her purity ring, mostly because she had nothing else to do. Then, she looked back outside, not quitting her little playing with her ring. She remembered a song from Les Misérables. She'd learned most of the songs by heart because there were times Alex wouldn't stop listening to them.

"At the end of the day you're another day older," Lucia sang softly. Her voice couldn't be heard underneath Lola's choice of music. She continued singing "At the End of the Day" until Lola shook her softly, trying to catch her attention.

"Hey, we're here." Lola pointed at a diner. "Alex!" She yelled. Alex jumped, and pulled out her earphones.

"What?" She asked, wide-eyed and alert. "What's up?"

"Dinner," Lola answered as she opened the car's door. "Let's go."

Alex, visibly more calmed, rolled her eyes as she opened the backseat's door. Lucia imitated them and exited the car. The joined Dean, Sam and Castiel in front of the diner, and they entered it together. They found a booth, and sat down. The waitress came pretty fast. Most of them ordered a cheeseburger, but Sam and Lucia ordered a salad, and Cass ordered nothing. Angels didn't eat, after all.

"I'm guessing Cass brought you up to date?" Lola asked the Winchesters.

"Yeah." Sam nodded.

"Good." Lola nodded too, and the waitress came. Besides the food, they'd also ordered drinks. Dean, Lola and Sam had ordered beer, while Lucia and Alex had ordered Dr. Pepper. The drinks came first, and as soon as the waitress put the beers down, Lola grabbed one and took a gulp. "I needed that," she added.

Lucia disapproved, but decided not to say anything. It wasn't really any of her business, and they'd been on very good terms these past few days, she didn't want to ruin it.

The dinner passed quickly. Castiel stayed quiet most of the time, only speaking when someone asked him something. Lucia acted the same way, only when something funny happened, she laughed, and was her usual self, honest and a bit expressive. Castiel, though, still looked impassive.

In the middle of the dinner, though, Sam's expression changed, and he became a bit more unexpressive. Lucia tried to follow his gaze, but she couldn't see anything. There were too many people there. But Alex had noticed too, apparently, since her expression had also changed, to a really good poker face, which made her seem like she'd zoned out or something.

They walked out, but Sam stayed behind, saying needed to go to the bathroom and he'd be back in a couple of minutes. Dean had shrugged and entered the Impala. Lucia stopped Alex before she entered the Mustang, when Lola couldn't hear them anymore.

"Ruby was there, wasn't she?" Lucia asked Alex in a low voice. The girl scowled, and nodded, before entering the car, and Lu did too. She hated seeing her sister like this. She thought about telling Lola, but that would make Alex mad, and that was the last thing she wanted. She didn't want to see her hurting either. It was a tough choice.

She decided to distract herself by thinking about something else. Anything. Well, not _anything._ For example, she didn't want to start thinking about Castiel. Not when the angel could probably read her mind whenever he wanted. She ended up focusing on the music Lola had picked for the drive.

* * *

**Sam.**

"What are you doing here?" He asked Ruby. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it is?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know you don't want Dean to know, Sam, but this is important," Ruby told him.

"I'm not talking about that. I mean, we had an angel with us, for God's sake. They're not exactly fond of demons," Sam reminded her.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Look, I can take care of myself. But this, this is pretty important. The demon who's breaking the seal is a pretty powerful one."

"I know," Sam said. "Cass told us."

"But did he tell you that the demon was Bernael?" Sam gave her a blank look, and Ruby sighed, irritated. "Bernael is the demon of darkness and evil. You have to be careful. You might need something other than the knife I gave you. He _is_ under Lilith's protection after all."

"Ruby, I know you're trying to help, but with Cass here, I don't need to use my powers and—"

Ruby cut him off. "Sam. This is important. You're losing your touch. You have to tell your brother! It's better if you tell him about your powers. If someone else tells him…" She trailed off.

"I know," Sam reassured her. "I just need time."

"You've had weeks, Sam! Weeks. A month, even. You have to tell him." Ruby stared at him with such emotion, that Sam felt the need to go and tell Dean about his powers immediately. He fought the urge, though.

"Fine. I—I'll do it. Do you think you can meet us there?" He asked. Whenever he used his powers, he felt more confident if Ruby was around. After all, she was the one who'd taught him everything he knew.

"Sure thing. Do you know which church do you have to go to?" Ruby asked. Sam shook his head. The demon sighed. "Then why do you have an angel with you?"

"I'm guessing he will guide us there," Sam supposed. "I don't know."

"Okay. Just, if I your little angel gets me killed—"

"Cass won't kill you," Sam said. "I promise."

Ruby smiled a little. "See you there, then." She leaned in and kissed him, before leaving. Sam stayed there for a while, before walking back to the Impala. As he did, he avoided looking at the Mustang, and more precisely, at Alex.

* * *

They arrived at Salt Lake City at 3 pm. Sam got out of the car, all dressed in a suit, and he waited for his brother, the angel and the girls to join him. Alex was the first one out, but he wouldn't meet her eyes. Fortunately for him, Alex acted as if he wasn't there. Maybe she was tired, Sam reasoned. It didn't matter much, he told himself.

Dean and Lola arrived soon, walking a little too close together, but Sam didn't mind. He knew what was going on between those two. It was so obvious, they were both in love, but Sam knew neither of them would talk about their feelings, let alone admit them. Lucia and Cass followed short after.

Castiel told them to follow him, and they did. Sam was the last one in line. He kept looking behind him, at first to see if Ruby had appeared, then to confirm she was still following.

When they arrived, Sam proposed to go first, and Dean and Lola tagged along. Cass, Alex and Lu would check that no one tried to escape, just in case they missed, and Sam didn't have enough time to exorcise the demon.

The church looked just like any normal church on the outside and on the inside. The problem was the priest. He was the one turning good, christian people into satanists.

They waited until everyone was gone, and the priest was alone. The first thing Dean did was to spill Holy Water on him "by accident".

When the priest's skin started to burn, Dean smirked and said, "I'd say I'm sorry but that would be a lie."

Dean punched the demon, but it pushed him away, and Dean collapsed on the floor after hitting the wall on the other side of the room.

"Dean!" Lola cried out, but stayed where she was, and charged. The demon just sent her flying away too.

"If it isn't little Sam Winchester," the demon said, and Sam gritted his teeth. "I've heard a lot about you."

* * *

**Dean.**

The pain in his back was excruciating. Dean could barely feel anything other than the pain. It drowned the voices, and he wasn't able to hear anything, except his own groans of pain. Dean couldn't open his eyes, but he knew he was conscious. Whenever he tried to open his eyes, he'd see a blur, then yellow and black spots filed in his vision, and he'd close his eyes again.

When he felt someone dropping a couple of feet besides him, Dean was worried out of his mind. It could've been Lola or Sam, and that was enough to make the pain diminish a little. He forced his eyes open, and gasped. His vision was still blurry, but at least he couldn't see the black and yellow spots.

_Get your shit together, Winchester. Sammy or Lola could be hurt right now and you're here, whining like a little bitch,_ he thought to himself.

He tried to stand up, but his knees gave in, and he had to lean against the wall so he wouldn't fall again. He pushed himself forward, and fell toward a chair. Fortunately, his hands caught the seat's back, and he didn't fall to the ground. His vision was still blurry, but he could distinguish some shapes, at least. And colors. He looked at his side, and saw a body, with a red mass of something, and Dean immediately knew that was Lola, and the "red mass" was her hair. _Dammit Lola_, he cursed to himself, then forced himself to look at where the demon was.

His vision started to clear, and he could finally hear the conversation Sam and the demon were having.

"So, it _is_ true, then." Dean figured the demon was smirking. "That bitch you've been screwing _has_ been training you." Dean had no idea who the demon was talking about. "Doesn't look like she did a good job."

"You have no idea what I can do, now," Sam threatened the demon. "You better pray neither of my friends are dead."

"Pray? To whom?" The demon laughed.

"What about your king, Lucifer? Oh wait! You're right. He's still in Hell. Where he belongs." The demon stopped laughing, and he launched himself at Sam.

"Sammy, watch out!" Dean wanted to scream, but it came out as a unintelligible cry. Sam seemed to have it under control, though. He put one hand forward and the demon was pressed against the wall. The demon screamed in agony. Sam brought his other hand to his head, and black smoke started pouring out of the guy's mouth, and into the ground. The spot on the floor where the smoke was landing was slightly glowing yellow, and the smoke disappeared through it. _What the Hell? _Dean thought. Maybe he wasn't seeing right.

The man's body dropped to the floor, and Sam ran up to him, and checked his pulse. "Dammit," he heard his brother curse. Sam turned around and ran up to him. He grabbed him by the shoulder and lifted him up. "You all right?"

"The hell was that, Sammy?" Dean ignored his brother's question. "You've got a lot of explaining to do, man."

Sam sighed, resigned. "I know."

* * *

**Castiel.**

Castiel lifted his Angel's Blade and stabbed another demon where his meatsuit's heart was, and it glowed a slight orange before fading, the body falling to the ground. It had been a trap, and Castiel hadn't been smart enough to realize it until it was too late. He felt terrible for that, but there was nothing else he could do.

He knew the Winchesters hadn't even thought about erasing the wardings against angels, because he felt the church was a ground he was not allowed to enter. He'd told them, though. Still, they'd ignored him. He hoped they could at least deal with the demon and stop the seal from breaking.

As soon as everyone had left the church, walked toward their cars, and left the street, 15 demons surrounded them. They were overpowered, but lucky for them, many of them were lower-class demons, and Castiel could kill them just by touching them. But the rest, they had to deal with them on their own. They didn't have the demon-killing knife Sam had, so Castiel was the only one who had a weapon that could actually kill the demons.

As soon as Castiel finished off a demon, he'd set off to help the rest, mostly Lucia, but that didn't mean he never helped Alex.

At some point, when they first were overpowered, and there was nothing they could do, another demon had appeared, and Alex had told them she was on their side. Her name was Ruby. Castiel had been reluctant to trust her, but he did anyway, and she had helped them defeat those demons. But Ruby disappeared in the middle of the fight, having walked into the church, and Cass was left to protect the girls. He didn't mind doing, what the humans would call, babysitting duty, as long as he didn't fail, and the girls were not gravelly injured.

He teleported himself to where Alex was having trouble with two demons, who attacked her at the exact same time, doing the exact same movements, and Cass stabbed one of them, and then beheaded the other.

Alex, out of breath, couldn't even mutter a apology. Instead, she nodded curtly, and got back to fighting the demons.

Before he could go help Lucia, another demon had attacked him. Cass sensed this was a lower-class demon, and he put his hand to the demon's forehead, and waited for his Grace to do the work. The demon was dead seconds after, and Castiel moved on to another. 9 dead, 6 to go.

Three were attacking Lucia, and he decided he'd help her first, then Alex, but he became too confident, and even though he managed to kill one of the demons, the other caught his blade in midair and snatched it away from him. At that moment, Sam burst through the doors, carrying Dean, and Ruby, carrying an unconscious Lola.

Sam fumbled in his pocket, took the knife and threw it at Alex, who used it to kill one of the demons, and severely injure another.

Ruby put Lola down for a minute and picked up his Angel Blade and killed the demon that was pinning him to a random car. Then she gave him is blade back, and walked over to where she'd left Lola, without waiting for Castiel to thank her.

Castiel managed to get the last demon away from Lucia, since it had been trying to choke her to death, and killed her without hesitating. He held his hand to Lucia, who picked it up.

"Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome." They let go of the other's hand, and turned about to where Alex had been fighting the demons. The two of them that were left were on the ground, dead.

"Did you stop him?" Castiel asked Sam, who nodded grimacing. Castiel nodded back curtly, then disappeared. He had to tell his superior, and Zachariah was not going to like it.

* * *

**Alexandra.**

Alex felt sorry for Sam. He hadn't wanted to tell Dean sooner, and now he'd found out, and was extremely pissed. It didn't help that he knew both Alex and Lucia had known about that. Well, he knew Cass had known about it too, but Castiel was nowhere to be found.

Alex sighed, as she sat down on a chair, at Dean and Lola's motel room. They were staying in Salt Lake City for the night, and then they'd go to another town, to another case. But something even more important was going on at the moment. At least for Dean.

"Why are you even doing this, Sam?" Dean ranted, and Sam kept quiet, like a child being chastised by his father. "Do you even know what this means? Do you know how far from normal you're going?"

"Dean," Lola said softly, as she put a hand on his shoulder.

Dean took a deep breath. "Why would you even do that? Why would you trust a _demon_ of all creatures!" Dean started ranting again. Alex honestly felt bad for Sam. "When you meet a demon you don't stay and have a chat, you go for the Holy Water and gank the son of a bitch!"

"Dean—" Sam started, but his brother interrupted him.

"Since when do we accept demons' advice?" Dean asked. Sam didn't respond. "You know how bad it ended with Dad…" He trailed off. Alex and Lola exchanged looks. The Winchesters barely spoke about their parents, even between them. "And how it ended for me. Why would you even want that?"

"Ruby's here to help, Dean. She saved my life, okay? More than once. If you would just listen—"

"So what? So you can lie to me again, Sam?" Dean cut him off. "That's not going to happen. You won't be using your powers anymore."

"But Dean—"

"Sam, don't." Dean warned, but Sam didn't listen.

"You can't do that. Do you know how much my powers help? I exorcise demons, I _save people_. Most of the time, after the exorcisms, they're all alive, and they go back to their normal lives. That's much better than how we used to do things, killing everything in our way, possessed by a demon or monster. I'm trying to take this—this curse I have, and turn it into something good." Sam was pleading Dean to understand. Alex knew how he felt. Sure, her sister didn't act like Dean because she had demon blood in her herself, but she rarely used her powers. Alex was the one who used them the most, and she always tried to use it for good.

Dean shook his head. "I'm sorry Sam."

Alex noticed Sam clenched his jaw, then furiously walked out, slamming the door behind him.

Alex hesitated, and then walked out too, and tried to find Sam. It wasn't hard, since he wasn't that far from there. He was about to enter his room.

"Sam," Alex called out.

"What?" He snapped, and Alex had to remind himself it was normal for him to snap at people right now, and he didn't mean it. "Are you here to tell me you agree with Dean and that I should stop, because I'm not in the mood—"

Alex cut him off. "That's the thing, Sam, I don't agree with Dean. I get what you're doing. I understand why. I don't see why you shouldn't keep doing it. Like you said, you're saving people, and that's what our job is about, isn't it? It's not just about getting revenge, it's about saving people from what's really out there, and you're doing your best to do exactly that, and that's great." Alex told him, and she noticed how Sam's expression softened. "And I'm sure Lola agrees with me too. Maybe she can convince Dean to, I don't know, leave you alone on that subject or something." She half-smiled.

"That would be awesome," Sam mumbled under his breath, but Alex could still hear him. "Nice way of handling the demons back there," Sam changed the subject.

"Thanks. I assume you did the same. Handled it nicely." They both chuckled.

"Yeah, right up until Dean…" Sam trailed off, his small smile leaving his face.

Alex nodded. "I have to go. I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"'Course," Sam said. Alex started walking away, but as soon as she'd made a few steps, Sam called her out. "Hey, Alex." Said girl turned around and raised an eyebrow at Sam. "Thank you. I'm pretty sure you're the only person who's on my side right now."

Alex couldn't help but smile a little. "Sure thing. Don't worry because I don't switch sides easily," she joked. Sam chuckled, then entered his motel room and closed the door. Alex stared at the door for a few seconds before turning back to her and Lucia's room.

* * *

**Lola.**

"Dean, take it easy," Lola told him. "Getting mad won't help you at all."

Dean ignored her advice. He punched the wall a couple of times, and his knuckles were soon scratched. Lola silently hoped he wouldn't punch the wall anymore, but he did a couple of other times, and when he was done, he was bleeding. Lola sighed, and beckoned him over to where she was, so she could clean it up.

"Why? Why does he have to do that? Why can't he just drop all this psychic crap?" Dean mumbled to himself.

"Dude, you're tired as Hell. You need to sleep," Lola told him after having cleaned up his formerly bloodied hand.

Dean looked up at her, and Lola thought she'd seen something like fear in his eyes. But she could be wrong, right?

"I'm going to bed myself. Come on." She entered the bathroom and changed into her pajamas. Then she slipped under the covers, and waited for Dean to join her.

It didn't took long, and soon they were in each other's arms, asleep.

* * *

**Lucia.**

Lucia shut the lights, and closed her eyes. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

_This time she was in a music room. It took her a while to recognize it. It was the music room they'd had at her high school. She sat down on one of the chairs, and let the memories come to her._

_When Castiel appeared, she wasn't surprised at all. She simply opened her eyes and gave him a small smile. "Hello, Castiel."_

_"Hello," Castiel greeted her. "You did a good job today. All of you."_

_"Thanks. Couldn't have done it without you," she said, being completely honest. Then again, when wasn't she being honest?_

_"I'm sorry I led you to a trap." Castiel was being sincere too, Lucia could tell._

_"It wasn't your fault. You didn't know."_

_"My superior is angry with me. I won't be able to contact you for a couple of days. But I have work for you, if you're interested."_

_Lucia could tell he'd added the last part not to seem to needy or anything, but truth was, she didn't really mind. "Sure. Tell me, what's the problem."_


	4. Look Down

**A/N: I'm not going to lie, I feel terrible for not posting before. I blame school, as usual, but you can blame me, all right. I just hope you're still reading this story even if I haven't exactly been posting regularly, as I planned. I'm sorry, I really am D: I hope you like this chapter!**

Look Down.

**Lola.**

_One hour left_, she thought. _Just one hour._

Lucia had told them the job Cas had assigned them. Fortunately, it was only a 3 hour drive away, and not all the way across the country.

Lola wasn't too happy. Their last job had been yesterday, and stopping the breaking of the seals wasn't as entertaining as hunting. Real hunting. This seal crap was tiring and didn't give them a break. Who the Hell had decided _they_ would be the ones to save the world from the Apocalypse anyway?

She glared at the review mirror, and saw Alex looking out the window, as usual. She glanced at Lucia, who was doing the same thing.

Honestly? The car trip was boring as Hell.

Speaking about Hell, Lola's brain decided it was time for a flashback, since she'd repressed so many others, and it took her by surprise, preventing her from blocking it.

* * *

_"Are you in or not?" Alastair asked her._

_Lola couldn't speak. The pain was preventing her from thinking clearly. She wanted to say yes. Every part of her was screaming yes. She opened her mouth to respond._

Yes!_ She wanted to say. _Yes!

_That's when a picture crossed her mind. Her resolution faltered._ Alex.

_She closed her mouth and glared at Alastair._

_Said demon grinned. "As you wish."_

_And the torture began again._

* * *

"Lola! Look out!" She heard someone scream and she blindly jerked the wheel to her right. She went out of the road — at least she supposed she did — and waited for her vision to return.

She was breathing heavily. Lola realized she'd barely stopped outside the road. If she had to guess, she'd say she had changed sides, and had almost caused an accident. Stupid flashback.

"Lola, what happened? Are you all right?" Alex asked her. Lola simply noddded, a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Yeah, I—I'm fine." Lola refused to look at any of the girls in the eye, and started the car again, ready to get back on the road and get to Idaho Falls as soon as possible. "It was nothing."

"I don't think it was nothing," Alex insisted.

_Please, shut up, Alex. You don't want to know. Just—stop asking!_ She begged her sister, inside her mind, forgetting for a minute Alex could read minds. She remembered when she heard Alex's voice in her head.

_Why?_

Lola swallowed, still tasting bitter, and stepped on the gas pedal, getting back on the road. Fortunately, no more cars had come their way, and the Impala was still the only car in front of them. Lola ignored her sister's silent question as she stepped even harder on the gas pedal, trying to catch up with the guys.

Lucia cleared her throat. "How much time do we have left?" She asked.

"One hour," Lola answered, without taking her eyes off the road. As soon as she caught up with the Impala, she slowed down a bit. They were still speeding, but that was because Dean was used to driving fast. That's why the 3-hour ride was taking them only 2. Dean fucking Winchester.

None of them knew what to say next so they opted for going back the way it was before the almost accident: silence, and looking out the window. Lola repressed a sigh. This was going to be a very long day.

* * *

**Sam.**

Sam tried to ignore his brother as he tapped his fingers along with the loud music. He was getting tired of it, and was doing his best not to lose his temper. Sam knew Dean wasn't too happy with him, but what the hell? Sam was doing good. He was saving people, like Alex had said. That was their job. That was why he kept on with hunting even when Azazel was dead and Dean had gone to Hell.

Sam was also irritated by his brother's behavior. The way he'd stare at him like he didn't know him anymore, with sadness filling his eyes, and Sam would want to punch something, a way to show his rage, because he couldn't contain it anymore. He wanted to scream, to tell his brother that he hadn't changed, that he still was the same old Sam, only he knew that would be a lie. Because Sam had changed during the time Dean wasn't there. Sam had forced himself to become more like his brother, because he hadn't realized he had become too dependent on him. Ruby had showed him that.

Ruby. Apparently, Ruby was the problem. Dean said she had corrupted Sam, when she'd actually saved his life over and over again, helping him fix his mistakes, and turning him into a better hunter, one that saved life instead of just stabbing every demon, killing their vessel along with them. True, they could escape Hell, but he'd just have to go and send them back. It was the only way.

Dean started drumming along, hitting the steering wheel, and the noise became louder. Sam shot him an annoyed look, but his brother just ignored him. Sam clenched his jaw and reminded himself to stay calm, but it was getting harder to.

_Just one hour left, _he thought. _One more hour, and I'm out of here._

Truth was? He wanted to leave his brother's side. Beccause if his own brother was going to ignore him and treat him like a freak, then so be it, but Sam wouldn't feel ashamed of himself. Not when he was doing good.

Interesting, though, how he had to keep reminding himself that he was doing good, how it marked him, how those words stayed with him, and he would repeat them, unconsciously, every time he felt like he had something to prove to Dean.

For a moment, they lost sight of the Mustang, and Sam thought Dean had gone a little too fast. But a couple of minutes later, it came back. Sam caught Dean looking worried, maybe even panicked, but just for a second before his face turned back into a poker face. He kept drumming along, with his fingers, thank God, instead of his palms, but this time with less emotion.

Sam ignored him and stared out the window, a thought crossing his mind. There was something Dean wasn't telling him, and Sam would find out what it was. Because Dean had no right to go on saying something was wrong with him when clearly, he had other issues to worry about, when Sam wasn't doing anything wrong.

Sam had noticed, every time Dean thought no one was looking, he'd look down, as if ashamed of himself, and pained. And the guilt on his face was incredible, because Sam knew Dean too well, and he noticed the guilt was crushing him. But why? What had he done to feel that way? Whatever it was, Sam was determined to find out, and he would, whatever it took. Sam Winchester had never been a quitter. He wouldn't start now.

* * *

**Lucia.**

They arrived at Idaho Falls at 4:30 pm, and the first thing they did was to check in at a motel, asking for the same rooms they asked for everywhere else. Lucia left her stuff in the car, though. She didn't dare leave anything in the motels, she hated staying at motels, actually. After all, a motel was a motel, and every stain made her suspicious.

The second thing they did was to go out and buy the paper. Then they sat around a table in one of the rooms, and decided their plan.

"This is stupid," Lola said. "Why would anyone kill themselves when they're extremely happy?"

"Well, it's one of the seals," Lucia told her. "50 have been broken already, we need to do what we can to stop this."

"Whoa, wait — they broke more than ten seals in just a couple of days?" Sam sounded surprised.

"Apparently," Dean said, his tone emotionless. Lucia knew what it was about, so she wasn't surprised when Sam made a bitchface at him.

"Anyway, we need to focus on this one," Alex intervened. "Who was the first victim?" she asked Sam. Sam looked away from his brother, then at Alex, his expression softening, and then typed something on his computer.

"A guy named Keegan Hawkins. He'd just been promoted before he killed himself," he informed them.

"Does it say where he lived?" Lola asked.

"No, but it says where his parents live."

"Let's go, then," Lucia said, standing up, and the others followed her lead.

* * *

They got to the house, but only two of them went. Dean insisted in going — mostly because he didn't want Sam to go — and Lucia wanted to go too, so the rest stayed where the car was — they'd taken only one car: the Impala.

Lucia grabbed her fake FBI badge. When Dean introduced them, she showed it, then put it back where it was, in one of her coat's pocket.

They sat down in a yellow couch, while Alice Hawkins, Keegan's mother, sat on an armchair, in front of them.

"I don't understand why you're here. The FBI doesn't investigate suicides, right?" she asked them.

"Yeah, but we believe this might not have been a suicide," Dean said, tactless. Tears welled up in Alice's eyes.

"We might be wrong, but we need to check every theory we have," Lucia added, and Alice nodded, suppressing the tears. She was an old woman, near her 80s, probably. She seemed nice, but Lucia knew she was very unstable right now, because of her son's death. "What can you tell us about your son?"

"He—he was really nice. A gentleman, you might say. Never did anything wrong. He married last year, and his wife is waiting a child… He just got promoted, I don't understand why he killed himself, I really don't." She started sobbing, but the tears didn't leave her eyes.

"Was he acting strange? Did you notice anything different?" Dean asked.

"Different? How?" the woman wondered.

"Uh, cold spots around his house, lights flickering… Maybe even smelled something strange, like sulphur?" _Way to be subtle, Dean_, Lucia thought.

Alice frowned. "No, I don't recall noticing anything strange like that. Everything was normal. He took us all by surprise."

Dean and Lucia nodded, excused themselves, and left the house. Dean didn't look happy with the investigation, but they told the others anyway, and agreed they had to check on the other victims' families, to see if, somehow, the woman could've been lying, or omitting something. Lucia didn't think so.

"Okay. There are two other victims so I say Alex and I interrogate one victim and Sam the other while you do some research," Lola proposed.

Dean shook his head. "I'm not leaving Sam alone." He stated.

Sam made a bitchface at him, and gave him an I'm-not-a-kid-anymore-I-can-take-care-of-myself look. Dean ignored him, and Lola rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she said. "Then I'll go with Sam and Alex can go alone."

Reluctantly, Dean agreed, and they entered the Impala. Dean drove back to the motel, and gave his keys to Lola. Lucia thought he should've given them to Sam, but Dean obviously had problems trusting him, and Lucia didn't really blame him. Sam was going down a dark road, she sensed it. She couldn't have told you how, but she did. They brought all the books to Dean's room, and she started reading, while Dean used her computer. She glared at him when she realized he was actually watching porn instead of working, and he just smiled at her, and turned back to the screen. Lucia realized he wouldn't be helping her with the case and she kept on reading, hoping she'd find something interesting.

* * *

**Sam.**

Lola dropped Alex off at one of the victim's house, then drove off.

Sam was pissed. Well, not only pissed. He was also confused, and hurt. Why would Dean give the keys to Lola instead of him? Was Lola more important to him? Had Sam lost Dean's trust? Just like that? Just for trying to do the right thing?

Did this mean that Dean was going to replace him every time he did something his brother didn't like? Sam clenched his fists, and refused to look at Lola. He was tense. Every muscle in his body was screaming "STOP THIS CAR RIGHT NOW". He wanted to run. He wanted nothing to do with angels. He just wanted to keep doing what he'd been doing before Dean had found out and thrown a fit.

He reached for his cellphone — he had Ruby on speed dial —, but Lola stopped the car, and said, "We're here." She was looking at him with a piercing look, and Sam noticed the rage in her bright green eyes.

"Look, I don't know what I did to you, but you don't need to look at me like that," he said.

"You haven't done anything to me," she spat out.

"Then why—" Sam started but Lola cut him off.

"Why? Because you're messing with my sister, that's why!" She raised her voice.

Sam raised his voice, too. "I'm not messing with her!"

"Oh, don't be so stupid! You know what I'm talking about!"

Sam gave her a blank look, confirming that he _didn't_ know what she was talking about.

"She has feelings for you, okay?" Lola yelled, slamming her left hand against the steering wheel. "And knowing that you and that demon bitch are screwing around…" Lola stopped yelling, and didn't finish her sentence. She sighed, and opened the door. "Come on. We have work to do."

They'd parked in front of a two-story house, white with navy-blue roof, very suburban. They walked toward the wooden door, and Lola rang the bell. A young girl in her early twenties opened. She had curly, honey blonde hair and brown eyes. She reminded Sam of Jo.

"Yes?" She asked, cautiously, giving them a look that clearly meant she didn't trust them.

"I'm agent Young, this is agent King," Sam introduced them and they flashed their badges. "We're here about the death of Frank Wilson."

"Come in." The girl opened the door wider, after a brief second of hesitation.

"Thanks," Sam said. He pushed his thoughts away. He had to focus only on the job. But images flashed in his mind and he zoned out. Like a robot, he walked in next to Lola, followed her to the living room, and sat down on a white leather couch, which gave the house an L.A. vibe. The coffee table was made of glass, the paintings looked expensive. The walls were painted white, like the floor, and the girl had sat on an expensive looking armchair.

But Sam hadn't noticed any of that. He was too lost in his thoughts. Was it too obvious that he and Ruby had something going on, other than their student-teacher relationship? Was it true, what Lola had said, about Alex having feelings for him? No, it couldn't be. She wouldn't have left him for a semi-normal life when Dean and Lola had gone to Hell.

Sam couldn't really blame her. Not really, but he still felt as if she had abandoned him, and he resented her a bit, even though he knew he would've acted the same way, and he actually had, when he'd left his father and Dean to go to Stanford. And, surprise, Alex had left him to go to Stanford. Well, not really, but that was how he felt, which was incredibly hypocritical of him, and he knew it, but even though he tried to stop feeling that way, he couldn't. Not completely.

Sam snapped himself out of his thoughts and tried to pay attention to what the girls were saying. Fortunately, they hadn't been talking a lot.

"—it might not be a suicide. I mean, we need to consider every possibility," Lola said. It was a miracle to hear her talking this way, all formal. Sam nodded along to what she said. _Must've asked why the FBI was investigating a suicide_, he thought.

Sam looked down at his notes about the case, then back at the girl. "You're Rosalee Wilson, right? Frank's sister?"

The girl nodded, visibly saddening at the mention of her brother. "Call me Rose," she said.

"All right, Rose. Where were you the night your brother died?" Lola said flatly. Rose's eyes widened.

"You don't think I—" Sam cut her off.

"No, no. It's just the routine. Please answer the question," Sam explained.

"I was at a party some guys from college were throwing. My phone was dead, and when I asked Allie for her phone—" She started explaining, but Lola cut her off.

"Allie?"

"My best friend. Anyway, I tried calling my brother, and when he answered he was crying. He—he didn't recognize me, and said, 'Tell Rose that I love her', and I was about to reply when I heard a gunshot." Rose was shaking, tears in her eyes. "I don't know why he did it! He was about to ask his girlfriend to marry him, and he'd just left college, and had found a job… I don't understand! He was just so happy!" She started sobbing.

"Did your brother have any enemies?"

"Not really. See, he was a really serious guy, but he was also very nice. There's no way someone could've killed him." Tears rolled down her cheeks, and it reminded Sam the first time he'd seen Alex cry. It was the first day they'd met, actually. She'd had a nightmare, and Sam had noticed, and tried to comfort her. At first she'd tried to push him away, but Sam insisted. He wished he would've told her about his feelings then, but maybe she'd seen him only as a friend then. Sam pushed the thought away. He had to focus on the case.

"Did you notice anything strange, lately?" Sam asked. Rose, who was still crying, frowned.

"Strange?"

"Yeah," Lola said. "Cold spots, flickering lights, smelled sulphur."

"Uh, no." Rose was obviously starting to doubt their identity.

"Was your brother acting weird lately?" Sam asked her.

"The weirdest thing that happened was that he watched a movie instead of working even harder on something that didn't need to be done. And it wasn't even that weird, since it was the fifth Star Wars movie, his favorite," Rose explained, a bit relieved that this question made sense, unlike the other.

"That would be all," Lola said.

"Thank you for your time." Sam flashed a smile at her before standing up, imitating Lola. Rose nodded, and stood up too. She accompanied them to the door. She didn't say goodbye, she was too busy crying, but she walked with them anyway, and closed the door after they'd left.

"That was interesting," Lola commented.

"That's your definition of interesting?" Sam raised an eyebrow. He was still pissed at his brother, and at Lola, but he was masking it really well.

"Yeah." Lola nodded." Let's go pick Alex up," she said, as she opened the Impala's door and entered the car. Sam did the same.

* * *

**Alexandra.**

Back at the motel, they were checking the patterns, which was easy to spot, really.

"So, the demons are going after the guys who are in their late twenties and really, really happy. But how do they do it? How do they convince them to kill themselves?" Lucia asked. No one seemed to have an answer. The silence in the room visibly angered Lola, who snapped at Lucia.

"Why don't you ask your little angel boyfriend? Oh, right, because he's too lazy to come down here and fucking help us!"

Lucia blushed, but was obviously pissed. "He's not lazy! He has work to do, you know? This is not the only seal Lilith is trying to break! What if she's breaking many at once?"

"Well, then we're screwed and the Apocalypse begins." Ruby appeared in a corner of the room, and Alex tensed. Now the only thing she wanted was to get out of there.

"I'll be right back. Maybe there's something on the internet that can help." She stood up, and walked out the door. As soon as she entered her room, she shut the door and locked it. She was shaking, partly because of her self-pity but partly because she was mad at them.

Honestly? She wasn't back in her room because of research. She was there because she wanted to get away from Sam and Ruby before she threw up. And even now that she was away from them, she still felt sick, like she'd either throw up, or start crying at any minute.

She took a deep breath, then another, until she calmed herself down. She decided to do what she'd told the others she would do. She grabbed her computer and looked some stuff up, but she wasn't really concentrating. After a while, she stopped, and shook her head. She couldn't really act like this, could she? It was kind of pathetic, really. She wanted to hit her head against the wall. How many times had she said she wouldn't be the kind of girl that would cry her eyes out just because a guy hadn't chosen her, when she hadn't even told him she liked him? How many times had she said she wouldn't be the kind of girl that couldn't live without a guy loving them? Truth was, she'd never been suicidal or anything, so it wasn't like she couldn't _live_ without him. But it did hurt, a great deal.

_Stop it_, she scolded herself. _You'll actually do some research, then you'll tell everyone what you found. And stop being so whiny. At least Sam's still your friend._

With resolution on her face, she opened her laptop once more, and started researching once again. She wouldn't be like that anymore. If Sam wanted to be with Ruby? Fine. Whatever. That wouldn't stop her world from spinning. She would just move on, and that was it.

* * *

**Lola.**

Lola had had enough. Dean still was avoiding to look at her in the eyes, and it was annoying, and infuriating as Hell. And she would know. She'd been to Hell, hadn't she?

As soon as they'd all left their room, Lola decided she would confront Dean. She'd given him time. A month. So, maybe it wasn't enough, but Lola had never been patient, and the little patience she had was wearing thin.

She slammed the door when they all went out, and waited a few seconds before saying, "What is it with you?"

Dean looked at her, a little surprised. Of course, Lola knew what was happening, but she thought that was a good point to start. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean, since we came back from Hell, it's like you don't even want me around anymore." Lola noticed a look of hurt cross his face, but it had disappeared as fast as it had come.

"It's not like that—" Dean started, but Lola cut him off.

"Then explain! Tell me why you won't look at me in the eyes for more than a few seconds, why do you always avoid talking to me, why do you avoid being alone with me. Just tell me why!" she exploded.

"You know why!" Dean was trying to raise his voice too, but Lola knew the memories were back, and she felt a little bad for what she was doing, but she knew she had to do it anyway. "I mean, I don't understand why you stuck around anyway. After what I did…" He trailed off. "How can you still trust me?"

"How can I still trust you?" Lola echoed, disbelief written all over her face. "How can I still trust you? Of course I still trust you! Why wouldn't I? Because of what you did?"

"Is there any other reason?" Dean asked.

"It was not your fault, dammit!" she insisted.

"What do you mean, of course it was my fault!" Dean clenched his fists. "I mean, you know what I did. I tortured all those souls without a second thought. I almost tortured _you_!" Dean ran his hand through his hair, trying to calm down. "I was the one who told Alastair I'd do it. No one forced me to."

"They were _torturing _you, Dean. You had no other choice. I mean, you held on for thirty years, that's a lot!"

"You didn't do it. You didn't say yes," Dean pointed out.

"No, but I was going to. Only, when I finally decided I was going to say yes, you'd already agreed, and they just stopped asking me. I wouldn't have spent the last ten years being tortured if I'd had the chance. I would've been torturing with you," she admitted.

"You don't understand, Lola. I mean, why would you? It's just… I'm a monster, okay? I don't even know why I'm still here, with you. I should be as far away from you as I could. I mean, I'm dangerous—"

"You're not a monster!" Lola protested.

"Of course I am! Who else would torture souls and _enjoy it? _Only a monster would."

"But a monster wouldn't feel so bad about it that he'd be considering suicide." Dean's eyes widened in surprise. "Of course I noticed!" she answered the unspoken question. "I mean, it was hard not to. But Dean, you're not a monster, okay? Don't beat yourself up about this." She made a step toward him.

"Give me one good reason not to." He looked up at her, his eyes shinning with pain. Lola swallowed.

"I don't blame you," she told him sincerely.

"Why not?" Lola saw confusion in his eyes.

"Because you didn't hurt me," Lola could see a protest in Dean's eyes,_ But I would have_. She ignored it, and continued, "because I know you. And because…" she trailed off, not really wanting to say it.

"Because?" Dean questioned, hopeful.

_Because I love you_. "Does it really need saying?" she answered instead. The confusion in his eyes was slowly replaced by understanding, gratefulness, and… was that… love? No, it couldn't be. Before she could answer herself, Dean hesitantly lifted his hand and cupped her cheek. He leaned in, and kissed her. It was their first kiss since they'd come back from Hell, and Lola had missed the taste of his lips, and how he would be gentle with her at first, then he'd become more fierce.

In that moment, Lola forgot about everything but Dean. Clothes were removed, and the rest, well, does it really need saying?

* * *

**Dean.**

Dean woke up earlier than usual, and smiled down at a sleeping Lola.

He took a shower, and before he left to buy breakfast (which mainly consisted of pie and coffee), he left Lola a note, saying he'd be right back, just in case she woke up and he wasn't there.

Then he walked out. He parked the Impala in front of a diner, but before he could fo inside, something caught his eye. Well, someone. It wouldn't have bothered Dean if it weren't because the person's eyes were completely black. _Dammit_, he thought, but still followed the demon.

It turned left, and walked into a dead-end alley. The demon stopped, and Dean did too.

"Dean Winchester," the guy said. "Looking for me?"

"You're the one who's been doing the killings," Dean said.

"I haven't killed anyone." The demon turned around, and Dean noticed he had curly brown hair and brown eyes. "I simply talked to them."

"Don't lie to me." Dean gritted his teeth.

"I'm not. And now, I'm going to talk to you."

* * *

**Lucia.**

Lola slammed the door open, and the collision of the door and the wall woke Lucia and Alex up.

"It's been three hours," Lola said, as an explanation.

"What?" Alex asked, barely awake.

"It's been three hours since I woke up, and Dean wasn't there. He said he was going to buy breakfast, well he wrote a note but not the point. The thing is, he hasn't come back, and he left before I even woke up." Lola was visibly worried.

"No time to lose, then." Lucia pushed the covers away, and stood up. "I'll be right back." She grabbed some clothes and walked into the bathroom.

* * *

Sam had gone with them in the Mustang. They drove around until they found the Impala, and parked the car. They split up, Alex and Lola going together while Lucia and Sam would look for Dean the other way.

"Do you think the demon's got him? Maybe they're going to break the seal by convincing Dean to kill himself," she proposed.

"Maybe," Sam answered, distracted. "But Dean's not that kind of guy." He didn't sound so sure. "Let's just find him."

They kept going, until Lucia's phone rang, and she checked the new message. "It's them, they found Dean. Come on," she told Sam, and ran the other way, Sam following close behind.

They found the guys in an alley. Alex was fighting a demon, while Lola was trying to convince Dean to drop the gun, which was pointed at his head. Sam ran up to them, and helped Lola. Lucia decided to help Alex. She drew a devil's trap on the ground with chalk, and caught Alex's eye, if only for a second. Alex managed to push the demon toward the devil's trap, who fell right inside it, and cursed.

Before he could say anything, Alex and Lucia started chanting in latin, with perfect synchronisation. "Exorcizamus te omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omni congregation et secta diabolica." They kept going until the demon was sent back to Hell, and Alex quickly checked his pulse. She gave Lucia an affirmative nod, meaning he was still alive. They turned to the others, who were still trying to convince Dean to drop the gun.

"Come on, Dean, I thought we'd been through this already!" Lola exclaimed. "Just, drop the gun."

"I can't." Dean was crying. "Not after what I did."

"It wasn't your fault! You were forced to do it!" Lucia didn't understand anything, and apparently, neither did Alex and Sam.

"No! I chose to do it!" Dean insisted.

Lucia saw it coming before everyone else. Lola made a step forward, knocked the gun out of Dean's hands, and slapped him hard across the face. It made such noise, Lucia winced.

"That's not true. Don't say that again," Lola threatened, before pulling Dean into a hug. Lucia and the rest exchanged glances. It probably wasn't the right moment, but they _had_ to ask.

"What exactly are you talking about?" Sam asked. Dean and Lola pulled away, and exchanged looks, before explaining everything.

* * *

**Castiel.**

He visited Lucia's dream once more. He didn't like it, not having been able to help, but Zachariah had forbidden him to communicate with the humans until they'd declared their mission was over. Castiel hated bringing bad news, but it was something he had to do. They deserved to know the truth.

"Hi." Lucia sensed his presence before he could announce himself. She turned around to face him. "What's wrong?" She frowned.

"You did well. Unfortunately, Lilith came back, and finished what the other demon had started." He said, emotionless.

Lucia pursed her lips. "All right. I knew you wouldn't bring good news." She paused, then added, "I'm guessing you have a job for us?" Castiel nodded. Honestly? He was getting tired of bossing them around, but orders were orders, and Castiel was a good little solider, right?


End file.
